


An Entangled History

by PirateQueenNina



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Green Arrow - All Media Types
Genre: Camp Nanowrimo, F/M, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-02
Updated: 2014-04-30
Packaged: 2018-01-17 21:01:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 73,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1402312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PirateQueenNina/pseuds/PirateQueenNina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For 30 days, I'm doing a story a day with at least 2K words. They will revolve mainly around Oliver and Laurel and their relationships to others and more importantly themselves. </p><p>Laurel and Oliver come together in a variety of ways. Their lives have been entwined for ages.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Sisterly Bond

**Author's Note:**

> Title: A Sisterly Bond  
> Words: 2294  
> Pairing: Laurel/Thea brotp  
> Genre: Angst/Comfort  
> Status: Done
> 
> Summary:  
> Thea is having a hard time because her family is lying to her. So she remember she used to have a big sister and go talk to Laurel.

Oliver was lying to her, she knew it. He and mom were being weird. And weird spelled secrets in the Queen household, but she couldn't get either of them alone for quite long enough to get some answers out of them. She kicked on the side of the road as she burrowed her crossed arms closer to her body.  

When did it come to this? She thought to herself, walking the streets of Starling. Roy would have told her that she was crazy for being out here, but it was the middle of the day and she needed some air. He was so overprotective sometimes. 

She stopped and looked where she was. Laurel's building and she shook her head. Well, if there was anyone who could help her get to Oliver, it was Oliver. She had heard her mom muttering about the IT girl that Oliver spent some time with, but she knew her big brother.  The stupid was in love with Laurel.  He always was. Before the island, he wasn't sure how he could show it, but when push came to shove, he'd dive in front of bullets for her. 

She knew that Laurel went to AA, but she didn't know exactly when the meetings were.  She hesitated before pushing the buzzer button, "Hello?" Laurel questioned.

"Hey," Thea said and let out a sigh, grateful for the fact that Laurel was home and she didn't have to look like an idiot being out here. "Can I come up?" 

Laurel waited a second, probably trying to figure out who it was. "Thea?" She asked. 

"Yes," Thea smiled.  "Laurel, it's me,"

She didn't respond with words, instead, the door buzzed and she was let up. Oh, thank god.

She briskly walked up the steps, skipping a couple at a time. And in no time, she was on the third floor, in front of Laurel's apartment. She knocked on the door and was greeted by Laurel's big smile, "Hey, I didn't expect to see you. What's up?" Laurel asked as she was ushered into the apartment.

That was exactly the question. What was up? "Oliver and Mom are keeping something from me. And I just wish they would trust me to let me in on this. But they won't.  And I'm frustrated. And my feet brought me here. Back to the big sister I never had," Thea said as she sat on the couch by Laurel and rested her head on Laurel's shoulder.

Laurel turned and took Thea in her arms. Moira and Oliver always claimed they were doing the best for the family, but what they were doing by keeping secrets was the best for them. Not Thea. Not the one person they both claimed to care about and did a fantastically bad job showing that they actually cared. "We'll figure this out together, okay? We're gonna make sure you know exactly what is going on, little bear. I promise it." 

She meant it. She wanted to get to the bottom of this. Oliver told her that she wasn't the only one with family problems, but it sure the hell sounded like she was the only of the two of them that had at least worked toward solving her family's problems. No, Oliver was about to get an earful, ext time she saw him.

For now, Laurel held Thea in her arms and remembered how good it felt to have her little bear again. Sara was her little sister, but after five years, it was understood that they had a different relationship.  With Thea, she got to experience the good parts again. They had pain to share that no one else could quite understand.

Since the trial and Sara coming back though, she hadn't really had much time to care for Thea and that was on her. "I'm gonna make you some food, okay?" Laurel asked Thea, breaking the silence between them. 

"You're gonna cook?" Thea asked with a little bit of a laugh.

Laurel didn't laugh, but she admitted to cracking a smile. Her lack of talent in the kitchen was apparently legendary.  "Well, what do you want since my cooking is so bad." 

"Could we go to Big Belly?" She asked, her eyes nice and bright. This was definitely not the girl who walked into her apartment. 

Laurel nodded. "Let me get my shoes and purse, kid."  She went to her bedroom and got a pair of heels, a sweater, and her normal purse and put everything on.  It looked okay. "Ready to go, little bear?" She asked as she came out.

"Always," Thea smiled.

They walked down the stairs side by side and smiling.  Laurel remembered when she would do this for Thea every week. Thea even sometimes stayed over on the weekends. Her father, never supportive of it, asked her why she did it once.  Because I need to.  Because we need to stick together. I didn't just love Ollie. I'm not losing more people to some stupid boat. She remembered saying it all and she remembered her father shaking his head every time Thea was over with her, but he never complained, after that. Just accepted that she wasn't letting Thea not be part of her life. 

They told silly stories as Laurel drove to Big Belly and they stumbled in and all eyes were on them.  Not that there were many. There actually weren't. But the eyes that were there were important eyes. They didn't even notice till they looked up.  Felicity and Oliver.  Well, fuck.

Laurel's eyes narrowed at Oliver and she shot him the deadliest of death stares and he scurried to the outside, through the door on the opposite side. While Felicity stood in line waiting for their food.

"Hey," Laurel said as she opened her purse. "Get what you want, bear. You know what I like.  I'll be back in a minute," She gave her the wallet and zipped up her purse.

Her heels clacked on the vinyl flooring of Big Belly as she exited the door and found Oliver. 

Oliver looked horrified when he saw her and almost thought about running away. 

"Oliver Jonas Queen!" Laurel said in a voice that commanded authority.  "You are keeping secrets and it needs to stop.  Especially to Thea.  You think you're keeping her safe, but you're not. You're hurting her. You and Moira are hurting her.  Whatever it is, you guys have always stayed together before, your bond can weather anything." 

"Laurel, you don't know what you're talking about," Oliver said through gritted teeth.

Laurel put her hand on his and made him look into her eyes, her eyes full of rage and hurt that he was keeping things from his sister.  "You need to stop being such a hypocrite and do what's best for Thea. Not what is just best for you and Moira.  You know what's best for her. But you are suppressing it and it's hurting her. You are the reason for her pain right now. And I'm gonna fight for my bear if it's the last thing I do. So either you and Moira tell her or I'm gonna figure out exactly why you're keeping secrets. And trust me, you're not gonna like it." 

"Laurel, I hardly think you could get that information. I mean it took Felicity at least a week to put that together." Oliver said with a bit of wisp of air blown out of his mouth and then he realized what he said and the grin on her face. "Laurel, no. You can't do this." 

"Why not, Ollie? Thea deserves some family who won't lie to her." Laurel said as she reached for the door and looked around. Felicity was at a table. Not exactly an ideal place for asking all of the Queen family secrets, but she supposed if she had to question her right there, she could. 

Oliver sighted. "You're never gonna give this up, are you?" 

"She trusts me, Ollie. I know how much trust means exactly shit to you, but it means a lot to me, especially now." She told him.  "If you won't tell me, I'm gonna corner Felicity and get her to tell me what she told you and then I'm gonna tell Thea.  Now, that's gonna make both you and Moira look like really bad people and I don't want to do that, but I'm stopping the lies. Right here, right now."

He sighed.  She was serious about this. Nothing suggested she wasn't. Her love for family did not just stop with her own, he saw that in action. Hell, he'd been on the lucky side of it more than once, but this, now this was not lucky.  "I'll tell her tomorrow.  She's gonna hate me though. She's gonna hate me and she's going to hate our mother," He admitted to her.

She took his hands in hers, "You need to let her be angry. And know that she will always have somewhere to come. I refuse to let little bear be alone." She told him and nodded.

He took her in his arms and cried for a minute and Laurel knew better than to question it.  He needed her sympathy because whatever it was that he was hiding, it was huge. Huge enough that he thought he might lose Thea to it. 

She closed her eyes and rubbed his back, "You're gonna be okay too. I'd never hate you, if it means anything," She told him in a whisper. "But if you chicken out on her, I'm going to make sure that you regret it," She told him. He felt her evil smile and he knew she was deadly when it came to that smile. That smile was question my authority and I will release hell's fire on you. Laurel released him from her arms and let him go.

She walked back in and saw Thea at a table with a bounty of food, half of it untouched, hers, but all of the fries were in the middle for the both of them to share. "So what you guys talk about, lioness?" Thea asked as she put a fry in her mouth.

Laurel smiled to her. "We talked about you. And how he's gonna tell you his secret tomorrow or he will be in a lot of pain." She put her purse on the side and started unwrapping her burger which looked delightful.  She was glad that Thea knew her so well. 

Thea beamed at her big sister in Laurel Lance. Some of her friends didn't get Laurel and thought she was a bitch who was overbearing, but this Laurel, she loved her. Laurel always cared one hundred percent, it was never her style to love any less.  "Do you know what it is, the secret?" She asked, a little curious. 

Laurel shook her head "No, I didn't make him tell me.  He needs to tell you first, besides if I knew, I'd tell you right here and Oliver knows that. Because little bear, you have been through so much.  And I'm not gonna betray your trust by lying to you," She said as she tucked a piece of Thea's hair behind her ear, "Now come on, we have a bounty to eat," She smiled. 

Thea laughed and they went into overdrive mode, talking, eating, and laughing. It was everything she needed after feeling for so long that no one could tell the truth.  

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom, okay?" She asked Thea and Thea nodded as she looked at the fries. "Finish up, Bear." She told her as she ruffled the hair on her head. 

"Hey, I thought you were going to the bathroom, Lioness," 

She grinned, "I am," She went into the bathroom and a stall opened and it was Felicity. Oh. Knowing that she knew the secret that was Thea's to know and not Thea made her a little resentful for Thea. She pushed that down and instead put that energy into washing her hands. 

"You and Thea seem happy," Felicity said in that awkward way that she did. 

Laurel smiled into the mirror. "Well, Thea's gonna learn the secret Oliver's keeping from her tomorrow, so yeah, we're both happy," 

"He's gonna tell her about Merlyn?!" Felicity gasped.

Laurel connected the dots. "Merlyn? You mean Malcolm.  And you mean that he's her father." She said, coming to the realization.  And then her eyes narrowed at this,  "How did you learn this?" 

"I may have tracked down the doctor who delivered her and the dummy account that paid the doctor off when Moira announced she's running for Mayor and connected the dots in the timeline," She told Laurel, embarrassed. "I was the one who told Oliver," 

"That wasn't your secret to tell." She said, looking into the sink. Really, she wasn't mad at Felicity who was just the messenger, except with the fact that she told Oliver who had to keep this with him. No wonder he was saying he was having family problems. "And it's potentially gonna rip them apart because Moira was saving herself and her children. Robert was the only father Thea ever knew. Bear needs to know, but she doesn't deserve to think she was ever related to a man like that. You didn't meet him. She was better with Robert, her dad." She was trying not to cry about this. 

Felicity put a hand on Laurel's shoulder. "You call her Bear?" Felicity asked. 

Laurel let out a sad gasp, "Yeah, it was a nickname I gave a long time ago. Because she was so strong and ferocious and she just had all of the good qualities of a bear."

"She's lucky she's got you as someone who cares. Someone who's family," Felicity said. 


	2. Break Me Down, You Got a Lovely Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slade comes to tell Laurel about Oliver's little secret and then shows her the one thing that she hasn't had in a long time. Trust. And for Oliver, that is the most dangerous thing in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Break Me Down, You Got a Lovely Face  
> Words: 2250  
> Pairings: Oliver/Sara, Laurel/Slade  
> Genre: Romance/Angst  
> Status: Done.

Watching the news of Thea's safe return to her family, Laurel couldn't help but feel a little relief. Bear was safe.  Slade Wilson, god, she wanted to kill him. She couldn't believe that someone so connected with Moira could do that. Well, not really.  Moira wasn't the best mother.  She messed up plenty. Her associates including Malcolm Merlyn which put your judgment under question, but she always tried to keep Thea safe. 

She put her bowl in her kitchen and heard her a rap on the door. She opened it.  Slade. Fuck.

She tried to push it back, but he was too strong. He pushed forward and into her home. 

The fucker grinned. "Don’t worry. I am not here to harm you." Like that made it better. 

"Go to hell," She spat at him.

"All in good time I’m sure." He laughed a little, "But before then, I have come to Starling City to see Oliver Queen suffer," He told her looking her straight in the eye, dead serious now. 

She didn't get it though. "Oliver? What?? Why?" She asked him, trying at harsh and just sounding a little bit panicked. When someone took someone you loved like Bear, you had the right to be panicked. What the fuck did Oliver have to do with any of this? Why did he want Oliver to suffer.  There was just so much about this, she didn't get .  

"Because he’s not the man you think he is." He answered.  

This time, Laurel had strength and turned her chin up at him, her posture straightening up. "And how would you know that?" Her voice tried to sear him, but the effects of Mirakuru had done more than strengthen him physically.  He was never scared by tactics like this before and now he saw them as the last straw of a broken person. 

"Because I know Oliver Queen is…" He paused for the dramatic effect of keeping her on her toes. This was the woman that Oliver loved the most, the way he showed up at that sham trial for Frank Bertinelli was proof enough of that. "The Arrow."

And in an instant her demeanor changed. All of the courage she just had went from her face and in that moment it was pure shock. He felt bad for her. This was a woman who lost all the people she loved and he could take pity on that. "Why did you tell me that?" She asked him, looking up at him and the brokenness of her eyes attracted him. Those eyes looked like they could kill if given the right motivation. 

"I told you because you deserve the truth. You have always given it. I know what it likes to be lied to by Oliver Queen. He makes you the most special and then he screws you over. You are so much more than that, darling." He whispered as he put his hand on her shoulder. 

And despite the fact that he just kidnapped her Bear and that he told her oldest friend was the Arrow, the vigilante who had kidnapped her at least once, the vigilante that she had a whole SWAT Team on once, she turned around and hugged him.  They ended on the couch and he held her like a treasured gem, with all the reverence and gentleness he could muster.

"Darling, I promise you, he will pay for breaking you," Slade told her after a long while as he kissed her hair.  He remembered seeing her picture that Oliver kept like a puppy.  And then he got back with Sara so easily. On the island and now that she was 'alive' to them. "I promise I will make him pay for what he did to you," 

They were broken.  He was a broken man who lost every girl he ever loved to death. She was a broken girl who lost every man she ever loved to death or to a stupid island that he didn't think he still carried with him. She wiped some tears away with her thumb and she looked up to him and smiled brokenly.  "You kidnapped Bear. I should shoot you, right now," She told him as she shook her head against his chest.

"дорогая," He said, Darling in Russian. "Your Bear was fine. But Oliver and I have feud and he was keeping things from her. I needed him to see how easily things could be taken from him. Things he didn't think could be taken from him." He told her with honesty.

She looked into his eye.  There was something he wasn't telling her. "You're keeping me out of it. And I want to know why." She told him, sitting directly in his lap and holding his gaze.

He liked this one. She was feisty. And much more defiant and a better actress than the other sister he was so hung up on.  This one afforded a challenge and he liked that.  He couldn't see how anyone would pick the other over this one, but no one ever gave Oliver points for being smart, not even that tech girl that liked him so much. "Oh, I'm not keeping you out of it. I told you his identity. But I'm giving you the choice about what to do with it." He said, grabbing her and bringing her closer to him and grinned.

It had been a long time since a woman was perched on his lap. She grinned back to him. It had been so long since someone trusted her to make a decision about her life and it was kind of intoxicating. "I think I want to make him pay.  I think I want to see him fall.  I think I want him to see what it's like to really lose me. I think I want him to see what it makes me feel when he dates Sara." 

"Are you scared of me?" He asked her.

She shook her head and grinned wildly, "Not anymore. You're honest, albeit morally gray. And you trust me to make a decision.  You know how long it's been since someone's done that? No, I'm enamored by you." She murmured and combed her hand through his hair, looking up at him with a reverence that he hadn't been shown for anything but his ability to destroy lately.

She gave him a light kiss and he kissed her back. Telling her was the best thing he ever did. A broken girl. The girl Oliver broke. "I just want you. And I want you and I to show him exactly what it means to be broken," He said as he picked her up and took her to the bedroom.  

"I'm not sure about this," She said as she she looked up to him, being in her bedroom with him, that was certainly something she wanted, but he told her that he wanted to destroy Oliver.  And she didn't want to be the one he lied to, just to say he fucked her to Oliver.

He nodded and put her on the bed as he sat.  "I understand, darling. We can take this as fast or slow as you want." He assured her as he kissed her hair.  

"We'll figure this out," She told him.

He nodded and smiled to her as he kissed her temple once more "Yes, we will. I'll be over soon," He told her as he left and her lips quirked into a smile.  

Oliver was on the outside of the window and he saw Slade bring Laurel into her bedroom the way he used to and then respect her when she said something about not being ready, because he wasn't watching them fuck like rabbits. Thank god. He might have had to intervene at that point, but he kissed her temple and then left. 

The thing that broke him was that smile, the one so genuine in her feelings when he left. It was only her by herself.  She liked him. 

He got out of the outfit and went into her apartment complex, of course, running into Slade coming down the stairs. "Should have figured you'd be here already." He grinned and it was his evil grin.  "How much did you see?" He asked.

"Enough," Oliver gritted. 

He laughed in Oliver's face. "Oh, kid, you have so much to learn. When you catch up, let me know," He said and then he went down the stairs and Oliver raced up to Laurel's apartment.

"Laurel!" He yelled through the door. "Laurel, come on, open up," She came out and she looked pissed. "Look, I don't know what he told you, but it's all wrong." He promised her.

Laurel's face just got angrier.  "Oh, you think that Slade is the liar here? That's real rich from the guy who kidnapped me last year.  You think I'm in danger because Slade told me your truth? The one you should have trusted me enough to tell me. But I had to learn from him. Yeah, Slade's clearly the bad guy," 

"Kidnap?" He asked her.  

She raised her eyebrow. "Do you really not remember, asshole?" 

"You mean..." He said, and the light bulb popped.  "He told you about what I do at night."

She nodded to him. She couldn't believe that he didn't remember on the first hand.  And at at this point, she didn't actually have the love in her heart for him at the moment to let him off the hook, "Yes. And it should have been you. You should have told me instead of letting me be kidnapped and my apartment trashed for no apparent reason.  And you. It was you who let Tommy die.  All along I had been blaming myself, but it was actually your fault." 

"Slade is dangerous. He kidnapped Thea." He muttered to her.

She rolled her eyes. "To get to you. Also real dangerous telling me the truth and letting me make a choice what to do with it and then being affectionate. Which you saw. Because you were at my window. I don't know exactly why. And you know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous. But that could never happen right? Because you're so in love with Sara right?" She asked him with a sear in her voice. 

Oliver was much easier to intimidate than Slade. He did not have the ocean to lick his wounds and she knew them better than anyone. And she was right. He was jealous, because seeing Slade hold her like he would have, it made him want to take her in his arms and make her forget about any other man she'd ever been with. And he was supposed to be with Sara. He was in love with her. They had a connection that Laurel and no one in Starling would ever understand. Except maybe Slade.  And he picked Laurel.

"What do you want, Laurel?" He asked her, exasperated with the whole thing. 

She looked him in the eye and said the words that she knew would cut him.  "I want someone who picks me and only me.  I want him, because he respected me enough to let me know the truth and make a decision about what to do about it." She told him with venom in her mouth.  "I want to break you the way you broke me.  You were never honest with me." She told him. 

Slade came back up and smiled, "You know, darling, I think I forgot my phone in your apartment, but I see you have company" He told her with a grin.

Laurel smiled to him with a blush, "Come, on. Let's go get it, Oliver was just leaving," She told him. 

Oliver stood there for a minute and watched the scene unfold.  She looked on the couch and presented him with his phone.  "Why don't you take my number?" She asked him as she gave him a kiss.  

He shook his head. "I already have it darling." He told her wit the loving look that he gave Shado back on the island. Shit. Oliver had not even thought about that. He managed to push them closer together with the one thing that bonded them together, the loss of their romantic loved ones. 

She came back out in the hall with him, "I hope you have a good evening, Mr. Queen," Slade said as he gave Laurel an open mouthed kiss.

"Bye Ollie," She said, with her arms crossed.  He was so fucked. Laurel had one of the strictest moral codes he knew and he fell on the wrong side of it.  

This one was going to be the hardest of all the tests, because Laurel could easily destroy him mentally and emotionally and Slade could best him physically and they were teaming at least until Slade found himself on the other side of Laurel's rage.  But he would do that until Oliver had been destroyed.  So what he needed to do was to make sure that Slade destroyed himself. 

And then hopefully he could get Laurel back. But she was very right. He was very jealous.  God, his Laurel and Slade. He couldn't believe it.  He wanted to win her back.  But first, Slade must be destroyed.  Keeping secrets had been the worst thing he ever did and he was doing it to protect them and this was the reward he got.  The love of his life wanting to break him. A breaking blow. 


	3. We've Been Through the Worst (And Come Out the Other Side)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity comes over for a movie night to find Laurel kidnapped. This leads Team Arrow to search for her. What they find is that Laurel has a secret that she's been keeping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: We've Been Through the Worst (And We Came Out the Other Side)  
> Words: 3037  
> Genre: Comfort/Romance  
> Pairings: Sara/OFC, Felicity/Laurel brotp, Team Arrow brotp, Laurel/Oliver  
> Status: Done

Laurel smiled as she took her keys off their hook and went to get groceries like she did every Wednesday at Five in the evening when she ran out of pre-prepared meals for herself. She lived in the frozen section of the grocery store.  If she could put it in the oven and forget about it till it was finished, that was enough for her. That was the extent of her cooking.  

Felicity was supposed to be coming over for a movie marathon, Harry Potter, she said.  A couple of them. Not all of them. Although that was no doubt on the menu eventually.  That would be fun, she thought.  Felicity doing a Hagrid voice "YER A WIZARD, HARRY," god, even the mere thought made her laugh. Felicity was definitely more fun to watch movies with than Sara was.  Not that Sara wasn't delightful company, especially since she'd met Alex who was just as much of a nerd as Felicity was but with punky hair and went to Yale to be an artist, where she broke the hearts of a lot of girls.

She put her key in the ignition and put her hands on the steering wheel and was about to drive out of the parking garage.

Then a rag came across her mouth and she tried to scream, but no noise came out and the scent coming from rag, pungent and sweet, clued her in.  There was no escape except to struggle and whoever it was had her pinned down.  There was no point. She fell unconscious.

Felicity parked in Laurel's parking garage where she had a semi-permanent spot and got out of her car.  She locked her car with the remote and went to go to the elevator. 

She saw Laurel's car though, doors swung open, lights on, everything that Laurel was very careful not to do.  She called Laurel's buzzer. No answer.  She called Laurel's cell phone and hoped that Laurel would pick up. "Come on, babe, just pick up. Please for me." It rang full blast in her car.  Oh that was never good. Laurel never went anywhere without her cell phone. And she clearly wasn't at home.  The next to call was to Oliver, if he didn't pick up she was going to flay him.

"Hey, what's up?" He said in a jovial voice.

She chuckled sardonically in his ear. "I think Laurel's in trouble. I came over for a movie night and her car doors are flung wide open and all of her lights on in it.  And," She went and picked up Laurel's phone and looked at the missed notifications. "She hasn't touched any of her notifications since five. That was like six hours.  You know Laurel." She told him.

And he did. "I'm gonna round up the team. You stay there." He told her.  She looked through the car and it didn't have the keys. Must have taken them. Meant that her battery was probably gonna die about the morning's coming.

She sat in Laurel's car.  Five was the time she usually went to the grocery store. Laurel's predictability was not very often, but that was one of those things that she did every week at the exact same time.  She looked for any tracks and she saw some to another parking space, but she couldn't do anything without her computer and currently there was no way to get into all of the databases because the parking garage did not have internet. 

Sara and Diggle arrived and gave her a hug.  She guessed that they thought she could have been taken too. But she wasn't. She came and it was too late to be any use.  "Ollie and Roy are gonna be here any minute," Diggle promised her.

"Thanks," Felicity replied and looked to Sara, "So Alex mad that you had to ditch her tonight?" She asked.

Sara shrugged. "Alex doesn't know the specifics of my job but she knows that it's complicated and she doesn't usually make too much of a fuss. Last time was because it was her birthday," She told Felicity with a smile.  That smile meant that she had thoroughly made it up to Alex and there was a reason that Alex usually didn't get too mad.  Felicity was proud of them.  Having a healthy sex life was important.  Everyone on Team Arrow got some because it was a way to relieve stress in the most basic way.

"Sorry," Ollie said as he practically dragged Roy in.  "Someone was busy and didn't want to stop." He gave Roy the side eye. 

Roy to his credit looked both embarrassed and pissed that Oliver had walked in on him and Thea's canoodle. "Let's just find Laurel," Roy muttered.

"Someone needs to take me back to the cave," Felicity injected in the conversation. "I need to get to the security feed in here and I can only do that where there's internet, because it looks like she was dragged from the driver's seat to that spot," She told them, pointing to the far side. "I should be able to get a license plate number and be able to track them, so I don't care who it is, rock paper scissors this shit," She told them.

They were never to be alone anymore. Being alone meant that someone could corner you in a really unfortunate way. Sara and Diggle shepherded her back to the cave and she went to work, trying to find the plate. It was easy enough to hack into Laurel's parking garage, there security was surprisingly lax.  "Shouldn't it have been harder?" Sara asked as she looked at the computer just popping up.

"Oh, it should have," Diggle said to her, "It should have been a lot harder. Especially considering how many time Laurel's apartment has been broken into.  You would think they would have that place locked down like Fort Knox," 

"Say What?" Sara asked, jaw on the floor.

Diggle turned to her and just kind of turned his lips up at her.  "Ya know, you and that boy need to learn how to communicate in a really desperate way." He just shook his head. Damn kids.

"How come no one ever told me that my sister was practically living in a kidnap central?" Sara demanded of them.  This wasn't right. No wonder she was gone.

Felicity didn't look up from her computer, searching the security footage and making sure to zoom in whenever she thought she saw something.  Unfortunately, it was taking longer than she though. "And how would that have helped? You think you were gonna get her to move? Your father couldn't get her to and I love you, sweetie, but she's got a better relationship with him than with you." Felicity said as she smiled and found what she was looking for.  "Besides, Laurel knows how to take care of herself. She has a gun. And we have a plate."  

"Okay," Sara said, "So now what?" 

Felicity took the license plate number put into the Starling City DMV records and checked out who it was registered to, "Oh, well crap," Felicity panicked and typed faster, getting the cameras to the city online as she raced to find the guy.

"Felicity, what's going on?" Diggle asked her immediately concerned. 

She put her finger up at him, "Don't speak. Either of you. Just make sure that we are safe and that you can be on the move at any time. Because our car to a Mr. Sebastian Blood, now it's probably not him in the car, but they clearly want to send a message and this time, it's clear, they want to take Laurel."  She processed information quickly and looked at the cameras trying to find the last address that the thing had been at.  "Now, it looks like a car with that plate had an the cops called on it for speeding at Lexington and North and then it fell off the planet.  That's where you need to start," She told them. "That's all I have.  The cameras don't run past North." 

"Got that Oliver?" Sara asked into her headset.

He nodded into his headset. "You need to stay there. Roy and I will get her. I promise," He told Sara, because he knew that Sara wanted to kill and that there was blood on her hands from before, but he wanted to keep them clean as long as he could. 

Diggle also left, because the girls needed Laurel back as soon as possible and while they had to stick together, having more people out there looking for Laurel would be good. 

He stayed beside Roy, "How's he holding up?" Diggle asked, nodding to Oliver.

"He's been better. It's a little more real though. Since Thea just got kidnapped a couple of months ago, you know?" He asked.

Diggle nodded.  The kid loved more deeply than he ever thought he did. He made this city better because his father asked him to, but also because he saw what it did to the people he loved. Saw how jaded they became when they were the victims. "He'll be fine," Diggle hoped. 

Oliver combed the streets and found the car and went into the building that it was parked in front of.  "Come on, we're losing valuable time," Oliver ground his teeth. 

Diggle took a flashlight and his gun out and let Roy and Oliver go the other way.  Roy could handle Oliver if he got too out of control.  He knew how Oliver could be when it came to people messing with Laurel and this didn't seem any different. 

He searched the rooms but there seemed to be no one here. And he was about to rally up with Roy and Oliver when he heard a door rattle up ahead.  He straightened his posture and went forward in a stealthy manner.  

He got closer and closer to noise and he steeled himself, as he flashed his flashnight on the door and saw Laurel, beat up and desperately trying to get out. He unlocked the door. These people were gonna just leave her here to die if no one came to save her. He unlocked the door and she fell instantly into his arms, "It's okay, you're safe," Diggle reassured her.

She closed her eyes.  Oh no good. "Oliver!" He shouted. "I found her." 

And he heard Oliver's big feet clomping down the hallways and as he turned the corner, Diggle looked up and saw the shock of horror on his friend's face.  "She's gonna be okay, but we need to get her to the hospital. Call 911. And Roy, you go opened the back door, it'll seem more plausible that we came in that way because heard someone screaming for help," He said and he looked to Laurel, she looked so peaceful, not like she had in the few moments of consciousness that he saw from her today. "Oliver, you need to change into regular clothes.  Go back to the cave. And get the girls. And go to the hospital." Diggle instructed him and the cops were already practically there as Oliver skipped away on the roofs. 

"You handle him well," Roy said, impressed. "Makes me wonder why you're not the leader of the group." 

Diggle shook his head, "It's his mission not mine to clean up the city. I just wanted to see him not kill himself doing it." He said, cradling Laurel's head. Oliver changed a lot since he brought Diggle on.  He changed for a lot of reasons, but he knew that the biggest one was the woman in his arms. 

Quentin got there first, "Oh my god," He cried as he saw Laurel in Diggle's arms.  

The paramedics rushed in right after him and Roy and another cop restrained him to make sure that Laurel could be helped without him smothering her.  "She's gonna be okay.  They're taking her to the hospital now. Shhh," Roy said trying to make Quentin settle down.  "She's gonna be fine. But you have to let her go on the ambulance.  You need to go clock out and tell your boss that you need to leave work tonight," Roy said.

Quentin fought this for awhile, but Roy wore him down.  "Felicity will call you, okay? She'll give you all the information." He told him and Quentin just nodded as he blindly headed for a door.  

"Tough night," Diggle said.  "You did a good job, kid." 

And then they were off. Back to the car. To the hospital. Roy drove the car. Which was a mistake, Diggle surmised, because he was about to give Diggle himself a heart attack.  He got them there though. No one could argue with that result. Starling was a big city and they got their within the hour including traffic and parking, which at the hospital was a nightmare.

They got to the emergency room entrance as Felicity and Sara came from one direction and Oliver came from the other. Quentin would no doubt be on his way, but there was forms and stuff that he had to do. "Ready, guys?" Felicity asked them and they all nodded quietly.  Felicity lead them into the emergency room and went up to the desk. "We're looking for Laurel Lance," She asked.

"They just took her up," The lady smacked her gum and casually typed at her computer, "Room 2401, are you her family?" She asked. 

"Yes," Felicity said without room for complaint or ask for ID as she steered them toward the elevator up to the 24th floor and to Laurel.  

When they got there they saw a doctor come out of her room. "Is she okay?" Sara blurted out.

The doctor nodded, "You must be the family. She's fine. She's awake, they're just getting her cleaned up finally.  I'll be back in a minute. I just need to get something from a lab." The doctor told them.  "Let me ask if she's wants visitors after that."

The nurse came out and the Doctor went back in and came back out after about five minutes. "You can go on in.  She also said you may all come in as a group. Don't be too rambunctious though. She's still fresh," 

They all went in and Felicity sat on the edge of the bed, Sara stood in the corner of the room, Diggle sat in the chair, Roy stood by the door, and Oliver perched beside her. "Hey," He said to her as he smiled for the first time that day and cupped her cheek and the whole group smiled to him. 

"Ollie," She cried a little as she pulled him down for a hug, "God, I never thought I would see any of you again." 

Felicity shushed Laurel, "Don't worry, we're never gonna let anything happen to you for too long," She soothed as she ran he hand over Laurel's leg.  

"Yeah," Sara agreed, "You may live in a death trap, but you have a group of angels who need you." 

Laurel softened a little, but then cried a little more. "You're not mad?" She asked them. 

It was Diggle's turn to reassure her. "This was not your fault.  We're mad, but never at you. Not for something like this.  We're mad at your kidnappers. It looked like they roughed you up pretty bad," The concern in his voice was evident.  He was the one who found her. 

Roy laughed. "If it helps, they didn't get very far. I had to keep Oliver from killing them all. It's a good thing he was wearing gloves at the Arrow, because he could have gotten himself some serious trouble had he not," 

"Is that true?" Laurel asked Oliver.

Oliver shrugged. "I was upset they took you. Couldn't focus on anything but finding you," 

The group laughed a little and they made sure to make Laurel as comfortable as they could. Of course, Detective Lance came in and shooed them all away so he could spend five minutes with her making sure she was okay.

Quentin walked out of the room looking relieved and he turned to Oliver and just laughed. This was weird to Oliver, but he never asked with Quentin anymore.  He knew better.  

The group recounted best day/worst day stories. "Laurel what was your best day?" They asked her. 

Laurel sighed, smoothed the blanket over and looked to the group.  "My best day is today, because I can be surrounded by all the people I love as I tell them something life changing." She looked back down to the blanket and smiled. "I'm pregnant," 

"Seriously?" Felicity squealed in the high pitched voice that she did whenever she was excited by a new Doctor Who episode which would no doubt make her angry, but it was her purest form of excitement.

Laurel giggled and nodded. "Seriously," She assured her.

"How far along are you, big sis?" Sara asked with a smile so big, it could light the sky. She was going to be an aunt. God, that was exciting. 

Laurel blushed, "About four weeks," She said in a low voice. 

"You mean?" Oliver said, taking the information.

Laurel nodded, "Yep," She said. "This baby is half you, mr. vigilante." 

He went over and kissed her.  His kid.  His kid was growing inside of her.  Her kid too.  God, they were gonna be parents. 

Roy looked at the both of them a little confused. "Since when have you two been doing the do? They only broke up a couple of months ago," Roy said pointing to Sara and Oliver.

Sara chuckled, "Roy, It's Laurel and Oliver. Always has been. Always will be. I was just the stand in. Besides, I got a kick ass girlfriend two months ago who I adore."  

"Team Arrow welcomes a new family member, baby Arrow." Diggle said in that wise voice of his as he kissed Laurel on the head, "Congratulations Laurel."  And he ushered out Felicity, Sara, and Roy, so that Laurel and Oliver could have some time alone with the news.  

Felicity smiled. "They're totally getting married," She told them. 

"It's been a long day kid, let them just enjoy the moment," Diggle smiled back to her. 


	4. Can't Explain All the Feelings (You're Making Me Feel)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver thinks that Laurel is in trouble and so he lures her away for a little while for dinner at his house where he accidentally locks them in and they have time to sort some things out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Can't Explain All the Feelings (You're Making Me Feel)  
> Words: 2110  
> Pairing: Laurel/Oliver  
> Genre: Romance  
> Status: Done.

Oliver went to the district attorney's office and smiled to the person at the desk, thankfully they recognized him enough. Laurel was surprised though, "What are you doing here?" 

He chuckled, "Look, I think you're in danger," He told her. He didn't want to tell her about Slade and how he was therem, because that would inevitably lead to more questions that he couldn't answer, but with Helena just put behind bars and Laurel being the reason she was there, he didn't want to risk it. "We need to leave," 

"No, we don't need to go anywhere. Ollie, I have work to do," She told him and moved away and he caught her by the wrist, "Ollie, you better get that hand off me or I swear to god, I will break it, right here, right now, and I will get off because this is harassment."

"Please, Laurel. Let me take you to dinner then.  If you won't stop working for danger, you need food." He told her. "And don't say you don't because I know you.  You've been working through meals. Probably even forgetting to eat them all together." 

She was about to argue, but it wasn't worth it. He was right and she was hungry.  "Just dinner." She warned him. She wanted to work. She just got her job back and she was happy doing what she was doing. 

"Just dinner," He lied to her. He wanted to protect her and if getting her out of there for food was his only option than he was going to take it.  Was it manipulative, sure, but he wasn't about to let her stay there all night. Especially because she'd be the only one there and Starling's law enforcement didn't do the greatest job at the courthouse.

He put her in his car and drove to the other side of town to a safehouse, something Felicity suggested after Slade got into the Queen Mansion. Somewhere where they could take people that they cared about if it got really bad. "We're here," He told as he stopped in front of it. 

She looked at him with an eyebrow quirked? "You think that I'm going in there? Are you serious? Ollie, you said just dinner. This looks like some rundown abandoned building." 

He just grinned at her in the way she hated because he was trying be amusing, but really he was just being annoying. "I told you I'd take you to diner, I never said where. And believe me, I have everything inside. So could you stop worrying for one minute and just trust me?" He asked. 

She sighed. "Fine," She mustered as she got out of the car. He got out the other side and put a keycard in the lock.  She stepped in and smiled. It was definitely different on the inside. "So this is where you're staying?" She asked him.

"How'd you know?" He asked with a little bit of a more genuine smile,

She chuckled. He was an idiot. "I went over to look for you at the Queen Mansion, Moira said you had moved out. At least temporarily. She seemed happy to see me though." 

"Yeah, my mother and I had a disagreement, so I moved out." He said, looking at her. She was so beautiful. After everything, it was amazing how beautiful she always looked, a supermodel without even trying. "My mother was always happy to see you. The only girl I ever brought home that she liked."

"Doesn't like Sara?" She asked, with genuine curiosity.

Oliver laughed. Oh no.  "My mother's exact words were, 'when you can have a colorless diamond,  why would you bother with zirconia? Not a moment I enjoyed," He told her. It had been in front of Sara and Sara looked at him to clarify and he couldn't.  

She chuckled underneath her breath and he wished that she didn't have to. But she did, because she supported him through his relationship with Sara. Truth be told it was rocky at best right now. And he didn't know how he was going to deal with it. 

She smiled to him and came into the kitchen. "Well, your mother always could be particular," She told him. It was a nice way of saying what she meant. She didn't approve of his mother's comment, but she also had a little bit of glee that she passed Moira's test. "You remember my favorite flower?" She asked him, nodding at the bright pink snapdragons on his counter.

He smiled to them. "I always remember snapdragons, Laurel." And he heard all of the locks on the outside click. 

"What was that?" Laurel asked him as the clicks went off. 

He hadn't meant for that to happen. "That would have been the locks. Apparently Felicity set it to respond to something I just said. Shit. And now she has to come bail us out." He told her through gritted teeth.

"What?" She screamed.

Oliver pushed the door out of the kitchen and went to see if his cell phone had any reception. "Shit," 

He came back to the kitchen. "I'm guessing we're shielded from calls in here?" She asked him as he started to get some pots and pans out.

"Yep," He said. "What do you want to eat? We might as well start with that." 

"Oh, I guess we're gonna skip over the fact that we're trapped in your temporary home because your IT Girl didn't tell you what she programmed the emergency lock to?" 

Oliver groaned. Laurel was the only girl who would choose to pick a fight before dinner. "I would like to, yeah, but I can see we're clearly not gonna get past that," He said. "So come on, lay it on me," He told her as he crossed his arms.

She stood in front of him and the anger in her eyes was so great. It was actually a little scary, "You told me this was just dinner. You told me that it would be fine. You told me that I would be able to get to my job again. And then you go and trap us in here because you don't know you're own system."

"I'm sorry I didn't know everything. It's been kind of a rough week, trying to keep you safe from danger since you want to take on what the city has to offer as its finest criminals." Oliver shouted back at her.

"I don't need you to save me Ollie. I can take care of myself. God, what makes you think you can even save me?" Laurel asked as she walked away from him but looked at him. 

He went after her. "Because I am more dangerous than you think," 

"Why should I believe you? You couldn't even take me questioning you about Sara. At my dinner. Which you crashed by the way." She said, baiting him. 

"You don't want to know," He said, looking away from her for a minute. 

She shook her head. "You keeping me in the dark isn't protecting me." She told him.

"Me keeping you in the dark is literally the only way I have to protect you. If they went after you, I don't know what I would do. If they killed you. It'd be my fault and then it'd be just like Tommy.  I couldn't save him. I couldn't save him because he knew." He said and he felt himself breaking on the inside.

Laurel pushed herself in his face and steeled her gaze. "Whoever they are, you can't keep me from them. Because they already know. Because it's always been us. The three musketeers who have now been reduced to partners." She told him. "So tell me," She commanded.

He blinked the tears away from his eyes. "You can't get mad at me." 

"I won't," she promised. 

He sighed and looked at her. "I'm the arrow," He told her as he hugged her.

The arrow. That was definitely something. That was more than something. She thought maybe before, but she had never definitively tried to pin him to it. She hugged him. He was saving her since he came back. Even when she didn't want to be saved. He came over that night and watched over her.  The night with Sara and pizza. "Thank you," She whispered to him gently in the ear. 

"You know this means when I say that I think you're in trouble, I mean it right? That I need you to get out of where you currently are and get somewhere safe." He asked.

She shook her head. "Oh, no. Oliver you can't protect me all the time and I'm certainly not taking orders from you."

"Dammit, Laurel, why are you so stubborn?" He asked as he put her down. 

Laurel squared her shoulders back and didn't grin. "Because saving this city is just as important to me as it is to you and I want to know why my life is so much more important to you than the millions of others," She yelled at him.

"Because I am in love with you," He yelled. 

He realized what he let slip out and the shock came to his face. He didn't mean to say that. He didn't mean for this to be about their connection. "What?" She asked.

He sighed. "I am in love with you. And I have been every day since I met you. Even when I'm with other people all I can think of is how they compare to you and no one ever measures up." He looked away for a second. "Look, I get that you don't want to date, but Sara isn't in the picture anymore and I-" He was cut off by Laurel kissing him. 

He picked her up and she smiled.  He furthered the kiss. God, kissing her was like the sunshine of his life. He remembered it always. He wanted to always kiss her. He loved this stubborn woman who wouldn't let him value her life more than others. 

"Laurel, I love this, but should we-" He started to ask a question.

She shook her head. "Don't talk. Just take me to the bedroom and we'll figure everything out from there," She said, looking down at him with a smile on her face.

He did just that, hoisted her legs around his waist and took her to the bedroom where they would figure it all out.

Hours later they woke up when the door creaked open.  Clothes were strewn everywhere and Felicity and Diggle just looked at them and smiled. "Diggle you owe me ten bucks," Felicity said like Oliver and Laurel weren't the ones in the room.  "I just got your notice. The place is unlocked and you're free to come and go whenever, though I think you already know that," She chuckled at her own joke.

"She changed the activation code too. It's sitting on your counter." Diggle said as he walked her away from the scene in front of them. 

They left and Oliver looked down at Laurel. "That was a crazy night." 

"You didn't feed me," She told him with a grin as she kissed his pecs and smiled at the world around them. 

He laughed and grabbed a pair of shorts, "What would m'lady like to eat?" 

She wrapped herself up in a sheet and looked at the dawn outside. "Is it too early for pizza?" She asked him with a dorky smile. That was really the one he loved. The one she didn't show to just everyone. The one that you had to earn a place in her life and impress her to get.

He shook his head. "For you, it's never too early," He told her and went to go get his phone as she put on her underwear and one of his oversized shirts.

He watched her come out as he put in the order for her pizza. God, she was so pretty and beautiful and seeing her wrapped in his clothes made him want to do things that he shouldn't want to when they had a limited amount of time until someone would be there. 

"So," She asked. "Does this mean we're back together?" 

He shrugged. "Do you want to be? It's your choice. I know you're an all or nothing kind of girl. And I want to be everything to you." 

"You always were everything to me," She told him as she put her arms around his neck and kissed him on the nose. "You were just too dumb and too busy to see it." 

"You know," He grinned. "I heard the third time's the charm," 


	5. Our Last Summer (Memories That Remain)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quentin needs his sewing machine to fix Sara's suit and asks his girls to find in an overflowing closet of memories. They are surprised by a huge box of photographs and talk about the good times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Our Last Summer (Memories that Remain)   
> Words: 2983  
> Pairings: Laurel/Oliver, Felicity/Sara, Lance Family brotp  
> Status: Done  
> Genre: Romance/Family

"Hey girls can you help me find the sewing machine, it's supposed to be in the closet, but your mother she always threw everything in there and well, I can't find anything in there?" He pleaded with them because that closet was a mess, chock full of everything, good, bad, ugly, beautiful, and then of course there was the trash and the random files that she kept forever that she didn't take with her, but refused to let him throw out.

Laurel smiled, "Yeah, sure dad," She said opening his master closet and it really was like the wardrobe to Narnia, no end in sight, and everything in their way.

Sara looked to her sister and sighed. This was not her idea of a fun Tuesday night.  "Let's just get this over with," Sara said as she saw the mess and started combing through things.

Quentin hadn't heard anything in a while and he knew that usually meant some terrible things between Sara and Laurel, so he went to check on them and found them reminiscing with papers in their hands. Probably art projects that Dinah thought were too adorable to throw away, but not quite adorable enough to keep, but not quite adorable enough to put on the walls. "Remember, I need the sewing machine. Or someone's not getting their superhero suit fixed," He winked and left them alone.

"You asked dad to sew up your superhero suit?" Laurel asked in shock.  That was hilarious. Sara Lance, defender of Starling City with Oliver Queen couldn't repair her own damn superhero suit. 

Sara knocked her sister with shoulder, "Well, it's not like I can do it. And he created all of our costumes for theater classes, remember?" She said, trying to make this seem cooler than it was, but it was true, she was a dork when it came to this kind of stuff. She couldn't sew up her own superhero suit. 

"He did," Laurel said, smacking a piece of gum and thought about the happy family they were back then. Her father at the sewing machine while mom took over the other half of the dining room table with her papers.  Sara and Laurel stood at the kitchen counter and ate food while they talked. "Everyone loved our costumes, because they were historically accurate, but they were also adorable." 

"What's that box up there?" Sara asked. It was a big box. It could have possibly been the sewing machine.

Laurel looked. It looked about the right size to be the sewing machine. "Let me try to get it down," She said, putting a stool in the way and climbing up with a flashlight.  She investigated it further.  No, not the sewing machine, but it looked like the machine might be behind it. "I think I found it," Laurel said as she climbed on her tiptoes and tried to push the box out of her way. 

"Just be careful," Sara said as she saw her sister wobble on the stool a little bit.

"Stop being such a worrier," Laurel insisted, "I'm fine," 

Sara rolled her eyes. Of course. Just like Laurel to say that she was fine and that she had it before she inevitably crashed down and broke her arm, "Right," 

Laurel gave the box one final push and it got out of her way, fortunately.

Unfortunately, the box went crashing to the floor and fell on Sara as it splayed out and showed the millions of photographs that were in it, "Jesus, Laurel," Sara yelled.

Laurel had found the sewing machine and picked it up, before looking back and horrified of what she did. "Oh, shit, Sara, I'm so sorry," She said putting the sewing machine down on the floor as she picked up the pictures and shoved the box off Sara, "I didn't mean too. I'm so sorry," She apologized profusely as she helped Sara up.

"Was that all photographs?" Sara asked as she stood up, and Laurel opened the box and looked through it, grabbing a handful of them out of the box.  

"Looks like it," She said, assessing the photographs. There was some of Sara and Laurel as little kids in their princess costumes and on bikes.  Them at Disney world with goofy.  

Sara picked up the box of pictures, a little taken aback at how heavy it was. Dear god, they had a lot of moments that they had taken pictures of and kept. "Well, let's take the sewing machine to dad so he can continue to mock me at my lack of sewing skill." 

"You didn't have to ask him to sew it. You could have literally had anyone else do it. I think you like the gentle mocking. Keeps you real. He doesn't care that you're a superhero." Laurel smiled at her sister.  This was the thing that you never got to see in the superhero movies.  

Sara face pulled into a smile. Her family didn't treat her like a wilting flower that she was before the boat went down, but they also didn't treat her like she was some monster.  "You don't care that I'm a superhero either. You'll still give me shit for not coming to dinner on time." 

"You think I'm the only one?" Laurel said, eyebrow perking up into her hairline, "I distinctly remember Felicity saying there'd be no sex for you if you didn't get to dinner on time last time. Trust me, having people who don't care that you're a superhero is good for you.  Makes sure that big head of yours doesn't get too big," Laurel grinned.

Quentin raised his eyebrow, distinctly coming into the conversation at the wrong time.  He didn't want to know about his daughter's sex life. "Do I even want to know what you're talking about? Or is this something a father shouldn't know about?" He asked them seriously as Laurel put the sewing machine on the table.

Sara shook her head, "Nah, it's fine. Laurel and I were just talking about how it's good for me to have people who think of themselves and their needs first and don't put the fact that I'm a 'superhero' on a pedestal. That never is a very good description for what I do anyway," Sara said as she looked to Laurel, "Where should I put this one?" She asked.

Quentin eyed the box, "What's in that thing? The sewing machine is right there, I didn't ask for anything more than the sewing machine." He joked to them. 

"Just put it on the other side of the table," Laurel said as she set up the sewing machine for her father.  "We can go through them while he fixes your super suit." Laurel said as she unbent and smiled, "All yours daddy," She kissed him on the cheek and went to go greedily open the box and take some of the pictures out and put them delicately on the table to see what all was going on in them. 

Sara had a slightly different approach.

She turned the box on the side and let the photographs cover their half of the table. "Hey!" Laurel protested. "We'll never get through them this way." 

"We're never gonna get through 'em period. Not for awhile, but I gave us some more variety," Sara shrugged as she pulled up another chair and started to push through some of the photos. 

Quentin was glad to see his daughters working together to look through the old box of photos, truthfully, he didn't remember putting that box in there, but it was worth it for them. Especially when he saw the genuine smiles on his daughter's faces.  It was almost like seeing the happy moments in the photographs sparked something in them. 

There were plenty of photographs with where Sara had smashed some cake in Laurel's face and Laurel look horrified, never liked to get too dirty. A little bit was okay, but cake in the face, was so much.  Of course, Laurel gave as good as she got, Quentin remembered this well, but in those pictures Sara looked like she had achievement unlocked on her favorite game. 

He went to back to sewing Sara's superhero suit. She wasn't the most morally black and white person there was, but she cared for people and that was important. 

"Oh, do you remember this? When we went to Las Vegas and danced with the showgirls? Mom was so proud of us for just being goofy, she must have taken stills of the whole thing," Sara said, showing the picture and there they were, sequined dresses dancing and laughing with their heads thrown back. It was probably the happiest moment they had from the last few months Sara was home before the boat happened.  There was a lot of tension back then. 

Laurel picked up a photograph of Sara's high school graduation, there was Sara in the middle with Laurel and Mom on one side and then Quentin on the other. "We were so proud of you. Getting into Central City Fashion institute," She said, showing the picture to Sara. "We were such a happy family back then," She sighed.  They were a happy family back then and they were figuring out what they were now. Dinah had come back and stayed at a hotel the last few times, but the most recent time, she actually stayed at Quentin's. 

"Hey, isn't mom supposed to be here soon?" Sara asked as she continued to shuffle through the pictures. 

Quentin sighed.  "She was supposed to. She got caught up in some work and then her boyfriend got sick and so she had to stay there to take care of him.  So Mom is not coming tonight. Besides, we don't exactly want to have the family conversation that you and the family ex-boyfriend are vigilantes trying to protect the city," He said to her through the sewing machine.  

Sara nodded to him. "Alright. So we don't want mom knowing that I'm a vigilante? I mean we've already seen that secrets are dangerous, but if you want to keep this from her, I guess we'll keep it from her," She said, throwing up her hands.

"Sara," Quentin said, with a little of a smile on his face, "It's not that I don't want your mom to know. It's that she's gonna freak out. And I want this to be a little bit just about you and your sister and I for awhile, okay? She can't exactly do anything from Central where she spends her nights." 

She nodded.  It was true.  She couldn't have her mom worrying from Central. She'd probably come in every week and want to smother Sara and she just couldn't have that. Laurel and Quentin didn't really care either way but they demanded respect for their time too. 

She looked over at the pictures and smiled at one. It was Oliver and Laurel. She remembered taking it. It was Oliver giving Laurel a piggy back at a theme park. She originally took it because Oliver's smile was so huge, but she didn't realize that they were looking at each other and Laurel's smile was just as big. That was such an ungaureded Laurel. She couldn't remember the last time she saw Laurel smile like that. It probably was in this picture, taken only a few weeks before Oliver and her got on that boat.  How could she have ever taken that away from them? Because she was honest with herself, he only ever smiled like that when he was with Laurel. 

"You okay?" Laurel asked Sara as she looked up from the photographs.

Sara smiled a little sadly, "Yeah," Sara said, putting it to the side. But there were more of them just like it and she knew, she knew she had to do something about it. Because they were both perfectly happy right now single and being friends, but she knew that they'd be happier together.  They'd be happier and a little bit more free with their emotions if they had each other like that.  "I just need to go call someone," She said as she went into the other room and took her phone out.

Laurel looked at the pictures and saw so many of them as a happy family.  "We need to start taking pictures again. We haven't in so long," She told Quentin, smiling.

Quentiin nodded. "You know, that is a perfect idea," He said as finished up Sara's suit.  He looked over at the pictures on the side of the table. There was a picture of him and Dinah nose kissing with stupid grins on their face.  "We used to be a lot happier back then," He smiled a little behind Laurel.

"Nothing says that happiness can't come back," Laurel said, squeezing his hand and smiling at the pictures. "I mean just look at all the good things we went through. We've been through some pretty great things now," She told him. 

Sara came back and smiled at her dad and Laurel looking at the photographs.  "I think we should try to find the picture where everyone's smile is the biggest," She said to both of them. 

They both agreed to the challenge. Laurel's biggest smile she had in her hand. They would never win against Sara.  Quentin won Dinah's biggest smile when she got a Christmas present that was a literally antiquity from Ancient Greece. She'd been so happy to have it. Laurel knew that she still had it proudly on display in her new apartment in Central City. Laurel won Sara's biggest smile, when she was on a rollercoaster and going down. It was one of those stupid photographs that they charged you a fortune to get, but it was so worth it. Quentin's of course, Sara won, and it was a family picture where he was hugging all of his girls. 

"Last one," Sara said, "Laurel's biggest smile," She said.  Both Quentin and Laurel searched far and wide in the pile. She was the hard one because she had tiny smiles usually.

They came up with some pretty good ones, though, Sara was impressed. Still didn't have something as good as she did though.  Quentin presented a candid from backstage at a fashion show where you could tell she was rocking out to something fantastic.  Laurel picked out her college graduation picture where the smile was fabulous and full toothed. 

"you got one?" Quentin asked. "Or did you give up?" 

"Maybe she doesn't know me as well as we know everyone else?" Laurel asked with a little giggle and an eyebrow raised. 

Sara shook her head, "Oh, I'm ready to throw down, but I know I'm gonna win," She said with a grin. 

"Well, then put it out there," Quentin told her.

Just as she put the picture on the table, the doorbell rang. Quentin and Laurel were both shocked by it. There was Laurel looking the happiest that either of them remembered her. And ti was with Oliver. The guy that Quentin didn't think was ever good for his little girl.  And it was in those months leading up to the boat.  Quentin looked at Sara as she came back to the table. "Who was at the door?" Laurel asked as she smiled stupidly at the picture.  Didn't even bother to look up. 

"Just me," Oliver said in a happy voice, seeing Laurel smiling was literally the highlight of his day. Laurel turned around and smiled at him and hugged him. "Hey, I thought you might want to go out, like to dinner? I mean I heard you could get hungry," He said and blushed a little. 

She shook her head. "That is the stupidest pick up line I have ever heard, Oliver Jonas Queen," She told him with a serious face and then it fell and the ungaurded smile from the picture came back, "And I would love to." 

He looked like he won the lottery and Laurel went to go get her shoes and purse. Sara took him to the side, "I want you back together. It's why I called you. Because you both make each other incredibly happy.  That picture is proof of it. But if you do anything to hurt her this time, I am not afraid of killing. And I'm an assassin, Ollie. Just keep that in mind." She said with a killing grin and Oliver nodded.

Laurel came out and Quentin grinned. "Don't get too crazy, baby," He said as he hugged Laurel.  

They left and Quentin looked at his daughter. "You had that card the whole game." 

"I did," She said.

He simply chuckled.  "The game was just a way to bide time so that she wouldn't see him coming over." 

"Yep," Sara said. "They're in love with each other. I mean the idiots practically shed years when they smile at each other.  That's love." She told him.

"I don't disagree. I was shocked to see that photo. But the smiles were just as genuine out of it." He said as he slung an arm over his daughter's shoulders. "You did good work, kid. You want dinner? We can have pizza or I can make something," He said

"I'd love too, but I have to get back to Felicity. She wants to try and indoctrinate me to Doctor Who." She said with a smile. 

He nodded. "Thank you for the box of photographs." 

"Thank Laurel," She said on her way out of the door, "She dropped it on me,"

"I will," He laughed. His girls were crazy, but he loved them that way.  And he loved that they were in happy relationships that they could smile so fantastically with their partners. If that wasn't love, he didn't know what was. He had it with Dinah. Maybe that love wasn't forever, but as long as the smiles were there, you could figure it out. 


	6. Go Get Your Brother Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diggle needs a lawyer and Oliver thinks he got the best one in town for the wrong reasons and goes off on both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Go Get Your Brother Love  
> Word: 2284  
> Pairing: Sara/Felicity/Diggle, Laurel/Oliver  
> Genre: Romance/Angst  
> Status: Done. Contemplating another chapter.

"I need a lawyer," Diggle said to Laurel as he sat in the chair that was typically not reserved for guests, but colleagues.

Laurel smiled at him, "Well, you are indeed in the right place, Mr. Diggle. This is the courthouse. There are many lawyers," She told him.

"No," He said, firmly looking her in the eye, "I need you to be my lawyer. I know you're the best there is. And this needs to be won. Please, Laurel?" He asked.

She saw the desperation in him and she knew that she was going to help him. She closed the file she was working on and put her hands in front of her.  "Well, you're going to need to start from the beginning if I'm gonna help you.  No details left out," 

He nodded to her, "So my brother and I, we were both soldiers in Afghanistan.  He was married when he went over and he had a kid. His now widowed wife has to raise this kid on her own and also has to find time to be an adult.  And she married again and the man became his legal gaurdian...." He said through gritted teeth.

Laurel understood and let him continue through the story, writing down the facts as she heard them, making sure to keep up the important things. There was definitely they needed to do.  This little boy was a puzzle piece for this stupid man who was trying to take him away from his mother.  This man seemed not to care for the boy. "Well, Mr. Diggle, I will be in touch.  I promise you, I will help you and Carly keep the boy in your loving and capable hands," She said as she gathered her paperwork.  She put it in the crook of her arm and reached her other hand out for him to shake. 

He shook his head and brought her into a hug.  "You don't know how much this means to me, Laurel," She heard him whispered and she relaxed a little in his arms.

She took herself out of them, "I promise you, you'll keep that little boy if it's the last thing I do." 

Diggle smiled as he left the office and went back to the Arrowcave beneath Verdant.  Felicity looked to him and smiled.  "You seem to be in a better mood than you were this morning," She said as he put his hand on her shoulder. 

"Where the hell were you?" Oliver asked him with a stupid look on his face that indicated his anger. 

Diggle rolled his eyes, "Look kid, I don't need this. I had some business I needed to take care of. Personal business." He said.  He rolled his shoulders up and made himself look more intimidating. 

"Diggle if your head isn't in the game, I don't need you here.  I don't really care what your business but I need you to make sure you tell the rest of us when you can be accountable," Oliver yelled as he took out his bow.

Felicity looked and couldn't believe it, "You know, I think I'm gonna take Sara and we're gonna go get food." She told them.  Neither of them really heard it.

"Food sounds good," Sara said to Felicity with a smile. She and Felicity went out and neither of the boys actually realized they had left.

John looked at Oliver with a fury, "You know kid, you have some real nerve telling me my head needs to be in the game. How many times have you gotten me or Sara almost killed because your head was out of the game?" He asked with venom. "And last time I checked, going to the fucking courthouse before vigilante business didn't kill anyone."

"Why were you at the courthouse?" Oliver asked him.

It was one too many.  "Because I needed a lawyer. And I happened to know one at least by acquaintance."

"No," Oliver said. "No. No. No. No. You can't Diggle. That is the last thing I needed." 

He sort of laughed at Oliver's predicament. "Well, I'm sorry that you feel that way, but Laurel is the best damn lawyer in the city and I need that. I wouldn't do this if it wasn't important." 

Oliver got his suit jacket and went up the stairs and tried to speed past Thea, "Whoa, there cowboy, haven't seen you move that fast since Laurel tried to get you to commit," She said with a bit of a smile. His face didn't change from the stony look he showed originally, "Ollie, are you okay?" She asked.

"I'll be fine," He promised through gritted teeth, "But I need to speak to Laurel as a matter of fact," He said, trying to make her give him leave.

She quirked her eyebrow up at him. "Yeah, well go easy on her, Ollie. Laurel's doing really well. And you shouldn't be interfering with her progress too much," She told him.

"Will do," Oliver said. He got in the car and sped his way to the courthouse where Laurel would no doubt still be. 

He marched into her office, "Dinah Laurel Lance," He yelled. 

She was with clients. "Will you excuse me for a minute?" She asked the elderly couple who looked confused but nodded. She took Oliver by the bicep and out of earshot, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" 

"I could ask you the same thing, Laurel. You really poaching people from my team for clients?" He asked with a look of disgust.

She smiled. Laughed a little even. "Oh boy, Oliver, that is the most ridiculous thing you've said to me.  And that includes the time when you suggested a foursome with Tommy and Scarlett Johansson. You think I need clients from your team? Diggle came to me. Maybe because I'm the best lawyer in the city.  So if you're done, I need to get back to my clients." She told him as she strutted away from him. 

He couldn't leave well enough alone. "You know, you didn't have to take on him as a client." 

"Oh, god, Ollie, stop acting like a  _jealous lover."_ She whispered to him.  "I took him on as a client because the case would be interesting to have on my resume and because I'm fighting for justice."  She growled at him and he took a step back.  "Do you even know what his case is about?" She asked him.

"Well," Oliver said, clearly defeated. "No, not exactly, but-"

Laurel put her index fingers on his lips and smiled. "Well, then you are being a shitty friend on two accounts. Ask him what it's about.  And try not to intimidate me Oliver.  You know it doesn't work." She told him. "Be my friend and trust me that this isn't about you." 

She went back to her office and he numbly went out. Maybe he figured it all wrong. It wasn't about her and Diggle having some kind of connection, but literally was about him needing a good lawyer for something. Maybe he was overreacting.

He went in the back way and looked to see Felicity and Sara smiling and laughing over fries and Diggle at the salmon ladder. He went over and stood beside it for awhile.  He looked up and asked, "Can we talk?" 

John got down and wiped his face, "What do you want?" He asked, not really in the mood for another fight.

Oliver sighed deeply, the lines in his face deepening a little, "I maybe overreacted just a little bit earlier.  I just, with Laurel, I get crazy," He told Diggle who quirked his eyebrow and smiled as he gripped an ice cold bottle of water that was sweating. "What's your case about?" 

"An ex of Carly's is claiming that she can't take care of her son very well because he doesn't have good male role models in his life. And I needed Laurel to help show that I was a good one and that Carly was perfectly taken care of." He said, looking at the concrete ground.  They certainly didn't live in the nicest place, but it was home.

Oliver sat down on the shiny industrial metal table. He knew what this meant. For Diggle, family was everything. He didn't have much of it, but when he did, he fought for them like they were the most precious stone, like he fought to avenge his father. "So this is just about Carly and her kid?" He asked.

Diggle nodded, "It's all about Carly and her son. I want to keep them safe." He told Oliver.  He picked himself and looked over at Felicity and Sara, "Besides, I already have a Lance and the hot IT girl." He said with a shit eating grin. 

"Both?" Oliver asked as he looked back at them and Sara and Felicity waved at the both of them. 

Diggle nodded. "Both. I could take all of the girls, but I figured Billionaire playboy Oliver Queen should have at least one girl that he can get." He shook his head as he patted the man's shoulder and went back to his ladies. 

"No arrow business tonight," He told them all.  "I have something I need to do on my own." He said as he went back out.

"More like someone to do," Sara said.

Oliver peeked his head back in, "I heard that." 

"Good one, baby," Felicity complimented as she gave her girlfriend a kiss. 

Oliver drove back to the courthouse, now that it would have been long since abandoned by clients and people who actually needed legal advice and would just be left with the lawyers that remained working on how they were gonna get something won. 

He came in and leaned in the doorway of her office. It had a nice glass divider and her degrees on the walls.  It had all of her law books in a custom built in on one side and she had nice plush burgundy chairs sitting across from her desk which was lightly littered with photographs, one of her and him at the theme park with the biggest smiles, which he smiled at, and another of himself and tommy, giving her pecks on both of her cheeks. She was always the queen of their everything. "Do you want something or are you just here to yell again?" She asked him with an eyebrow raised and and her pen working across the page in a scrawling script.

He laughed a little, "I overreacted. I had this stupid idea that it was about about you and me. I guess that was more than stupid," He said as he looked at his expensive designer shoes.

"I'm guessing he told you what his case was about about," Laurel smiled to her paperwork.

He chuckled, "Yeah, he told me you're helping with Carly and the kid. Thank you by the way. I know he loves them." He told her as he crossed his arms and relaxed a little.

"Are you gonna apologize for earlier?" She asked him.

He sighed. He deserved that. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry for embarrassing you in front of clients. I just thought. You and Diggle, that it might become a thing. And that made me feel really weird." 

She looked up and smiled as she crossed her arms.  "You think Diggle would hire me as a lawyer with my expensive fee because he wanted to date me? I mean I've heard of a lot of really excessive ways to use money. I grew up around you and Tommy, but don't even you think that's a little bit ridiculous?" She asked him as she brushed his cheek with the backs of her fingers, gentle, almost as if it weren't there, a ghost brushing him.

He cringed. It sounded bad when she said it like that. "It was stupid. But admittedly not the stupidest idea I have ever had," He told her as he shut his eyes and she shook her head against his chest.

"You are a stupid man, sometimes. I can't believe I love you," She told him as she leaned into him. 

He opened his eyes and looked down at her, "You mean that?" He asked her quietly, because he needed that desperately. He didn't really notice how much he needed it till now. 

"Yeah," She nodded into his chest. "I love you. Please be my friend, first though. I missed that so much." 

He nodded and as he wrapped himself around her. "I promise we can take this as slow or as fast as you want. If you want to start with friends, I can deal with that." He told her with a stupid grin on his face.

"What made you think that he wasn't trying to get into my pants anymore? Because it clearly wasn't me?" She asked him, looking at him with those big doe eyes of hers.

He laughed. She'd never believe it.  "Well, it seems like Diggle is getting more action than me. He, Sara, and Felicity are all dating each other." He couldn't believe it himself, but the look of shock on Laurel's face almost surpassed what he felt about it. 

"You're kidding," Laurel squealed.

He shook his head, "Nope, completely not. They're dating each other," He said with a smile and looked down to her, "Is there something you'd like to do, since we're friends?" He asked her.

"You know, I think there's a new movie with Scarlett Johansson in it," She said, looking up to him and laughing. "I'm down if you are," 

"I'm down," He said, taking her hand as they walked out of her office and she locked it. 


	7. Just Harder to Function At Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel's POV about "Heir to the Demon" and realizing that Sara is alive. She deals with it in a way that no one else expected but they probably should have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Just Harder to Function At Times  
> Words: 3147  
> Genre: Hurt/Angst  
> Characters: Lance Family  
> Status: Done.

The first thing I told Oliver when he came back about how I felt about Sara dying was that I was mad at her for betraying me, for getting on that boat and going with him. And I was also grieving because my sister died in a horrific boat accident and I would never see her again. And I couldn't do either of those properly because I was too mad at her to be mournful of her death and I was too saddened by her death to be truly angry.  So I got to be in limbo about the whole thing.  There was always this looming thing that I hadn't quite dealt with.

It was the same way I felt about Oliver, before any of you get the wrong idea. I was so mad. I was probably more mad at him than at Sara, although not by much because Sara knew that I loved him and was in love with him. 

When Oliver came home, it was a surprise, I could be happy for him. I could be happy he was alive, but I also dealt with the fallout of being upset and grieving. It helped that he didn't leave me alone. And that he seemed to be sorry about what happened. There was also Tommy back then. It was comforting to know that I had my three musketeers back. They used to call us that all the time in school. It was Tommy, Oliver, and I, always and forever, or at least that's what we thought.

Which brings me to today. I thought I saw her. I thought it was a hallucination and being in the hospital when I didn't OD, it felt weird. Everyone was insistent about getting help when it was clear they didn't have a clue about what I was going through and what I needed.  So I fought them on it. And I won for the most part. 

I told my dad about seeing her and he looked pain.  He looked so pained. Why did he look that way? I tried not to think about it as we waited for my results to come in and people would see that I was not lying to them. It's so weird having to prove yourself to people who should believe you inherently. It's so weird when they don't. They care, but they're judgmental about coping. Even my dad. Who did this for years. Who I had to peel off bar tops.  But when I do it, of course, he knows best.  I had to give him an ultimatum before he decided that treatment was for him. And I didn't even really ask him to do that. Just to stop drinking so much. But no. All he wants to do is judge.

I loved my father, but sometimes he felt burdensome. I shouldn't think that, but it's true. I love him. But I feel like a burden to him now. Like I'm not doing anything right, but it's not like I can. I have to deal with grief.  For real this time. Dealing with Tommy's death. It's hard, because I don't know what to do anymore. Least when Oliver and Sara were gone, I always had him to hold onto.  Now, I don't have anyone. Because leaning on someone means I'm weak and I can't handle it on my own and I can handle it on my own.  I have to. I can't burden someone else with my problem. 

He left alone with mom at the Hospital which was fine. They were waiting on Bloodwork which did test positive and he had to go to work. That was fine. 

Actually more than fine. I loved Mom. Having her fuss over me was actually nice for a change. It was never really that way when Sara was around.  Sara always got mother's love and attention. She was the pretty one. She was the fashionable one. She was the baby. All of the things that made mom love her best. I just had to live with it. Now, though, she only had one child to desperately cling to and that was me and you know, she could be a good mom when she wanted to be. 

"Get some sleep honey," She said as she kissed my hair and I did. It wouldn't be too bad. Everyone would figure it out later. They would tell me when I woke up. 

It was a few hours later when I was woken up by an orderly, "What's going on?" I asked him, rubbing my eyes, god, they felt like shit.

"You are being discharged. Your father is on his way. The police have said that you're in some sort of danger here. I advised them against it, but they were insistent. You are to go home," He said as he gave me some of the clothes out of the bag that sat in the chair where my mother was sitting before. 

I looked to him, "Where's my mom?" I asked him.

"That's why you're in trouble," He said as he pushed the clothes into my hands.

I hastily grabbed them. "I don't get it.  This is a hospital. It's supposed to be safe." I said, putting on the pants he gave me and looking at him.  This was really not the way it was supposed to go down. 

"Look, I don't know anymore than that," He said, "Please don't yell at me," He looked pained.

I just growled as I threw the gown off and put on my bra and my sweater and looked around for my purse and things. God, "I still don't know how the Hospital could be so irresponsible. I will be looking into this and you can tell your boss that," I told him and his eyes bugged out.

Dad came and the orderly scurried out and I glared at him.  "Look, I know this looks bad, but we're getting it handle.  You'll be safer at my apartment." 

I didn't know exactly how true it was, but it was better than being at the hospital.  "What the hell happened to mom?" I asked him.  And again, he looked so freaking broken, he didn't know what to say.  This time though, it wasn't like he knew something. It was like we shared the pain. 

"I don't know, sweet heart, but I'm gonna find out, okay?" He asked me and I just nodded. 

He took me to his apartment and smiled as he put some coffee on and looked around. He had his eye on his phone at all time. "Are you expecting a phone call?" I asked him.  

"No no, of course not, I just, I have some people on your mother's case." He told me and twitched. Something was up.

I looked to him. He was not a very good liar.  "Look, you're not telling me something. And I want to know what it is. Mom disappeared from the hospital. I was poisoned. What do these people want with us?" I asked him. 

"Look, Laurel, you have to understand, this has nothing to do with you," He said and then his phone rang and the look of relief on his face, palpable, "I have to take this. I'll be right outside, okay? The coffee should be ready, so just get some and I'll be right back," He told me. 

He was out there maybe five minutes, but it still made me crazy. I didn't know what he was keeping from me and it hurt. He pressed the door closed and had a curt expression on. I looked out the window. "You okay honey?" He asked in that concerned voice he did so well. 

"You're keeping something from me. I thought we told everything to each other," I told him without looking at him. 

He sighed. This wasn't easy on him either, but I didn't expect it to be. "Can you give me one day? One day and it will be easier, okay?"

I looked to him and smiled because his eyes were distressed.  He wanted to tell me. And if he was gonna give me one day, that meant he was getting ready to tell me. "Yeah, one day. So why don't we get some of that coffee you made?" I asked him with a smile.

"I still have your favorite creamer in the fridge," He told me and it lit up my eyes. There were few things I loved more in this world than coffee, but my favorite creamer to put in my coffee was definitely one of them. 

That night I laid in the guest bedroom where my mother's stuff was and cried. She was gone. She was gone and someone took her and I didn't know if it was my fault. Or dad's fault. I didn't know which made me feel worse. I laid there and contemplated it all morning.

Dad took off but he saw that I had been crying and he embraced me. "It's gonna be alright sweetheart. We're gonna get her back," He said and I could sense that maybe he didn't even believe that was true.  Ever since last night, he seemed off about the whole thing.

He came home and smiled. I still had tears streaked down my face. And he did what any loving father would do. He made tea. 

"Here you go, sweetie. Chamomile, just like you like it." He said, putting on a brave smile. "Is there something else I can get ya?" He asked with kindness.

I wanted to break into tears when I took the cup, trying to make sure the blanket didn't fall off my shoulders. I just got her back. It felt like so much of her was wrapped up in Sara. And you know maybe that was also part of the reason I pissed off. Mom was a connection to Sara. seeing the vision I had and her coming back, it was a connection to Sara. I could maybe finally put it all to rest. But then she got kidnapped. "My mother?" I asked him a little sadly.

"Laurel, there's some stuff I got to tell ya," His voice quaked as I wiped the snot from my nose. I didn't look at him, but I was listening. He took a breath and started, "It's about your sister," He said.

I turned to him. If he had anything on her, all these many years and was keeping it to himself, I didn't know what I would do, but I didn't start out that way. "What about her?" I wondered audibly.

He was on the verge of saying something and then his phone broke the silence. He looked down, maybe to silence it, but he didn't. He pressed answer and went into the other room. "I gotta go," He insisted. 

"What about Sara, Dad?" I begged him. I just wanted one piece of good news. Anything really.  Anything to make it seem like everyone wasn't making it like I was some delicate flower who needed taken care of. 

He got on his jacket and went out adding, "Look, I'll explain everything later. Just sit tight." And then he was gone.

Well, like hell, I was going to sit around and wait for him to come back.  He wasn't telling me something and I was going to know what was going on. I could help.  

Once he was out, I threw the blanket off my shoulders and left, taking my shoes and only the essentials with me. When I got into my car, I wiped my tears and tried not to cry anymore. The only reason he'd leave me is if he had something on mom. 

He went down to the lower boat docks, wasn't exactly sure he was doing down there, but if it was getting mom, it made sense. These places hadn't been used in years. I got out and roamed for a little bit as he had gone into a big building for keeping fishing gear and the likes. I think it actually had been a tackle store at one point, but right now it was abandoned and large, the perfect place for scumbags. 

He came out with mom and I felt a huge relief well up in my chest. Alive and well, my mother could walk and be fine.  It didn't last long though, when they went back in.  What the hell were they both doing?  They were gonna die that way and I couldn't lose them too. I'd have literally lost everyone at that point.

There he was the Arrow. The hero of the city, grappling with another woman, who was probably someone bad, he generally went after that kind of person now. 

And then someone else was there and told him to stop. And he did. I didn't know anyone who could make him stop like that.  It sounded like Sara's voice, but I brushed it off. He was a hero no doubt, but he couldn't bring back the dead. 

A squad of ambulances, police cars, and other emergency vehicles swarmed into our location and I saw the Arrow and the bad woman leave. I walked up to find Sara. And my blood turned cold.

Sara was alive.

The past six years, I had been living under the impression that she was dead and there she was. Cradled up in my mom's and dad's arms like no time had passed and I was pissed. I had been drugged. I almost lost my mother. My father was lying to me all this time. My whole life. The life I cultivated through all the pain and the heartbreak, literally none of it meant anything, because in the game of life, Sara always won.

I couldn't even rally myself to the thought. Sara being alive. But there she was. In front of me, clear as day. 

Everyone went back to my place. Guess dad's was gonna get too crowded. And the Sara party happened. Literally everything was about Sara. 

Three hours went by and I couldn't take it anymore. You know, yay, Sara was back home. She also lied to us. For six years. She lied to us. She lied to me. I went and got a glass out of my cabinet and went to my prep table where a good bottle of wine was. 

No one even cared that I was there. It wasn't until I came into the room that they even took a second glance at me. 

"I know you have a lot of questions," Sara said.

"Nope," I popped, looking at how full the bottle was. 

She seemed hurt by this, which was funny because I spent the last six years being hurt by her actions and she seemed unnerved by spending five minutes with me. "How can you not have any questisons?" She pleaded.

"Because I know all of the answers to them," I told her as I looked in the mirror, tipping my wine into my glass. I was done. I spent six years feeling like shit for being mad at her because she was dead.  She was dead and I was mad at her and I shouldn't be. Because she deserved life. And now she had it. And now I could be pissed.  "How could you be alive? Where have you been all this time? Why didn't you call us?" 

I popped the cork back on the wine bottle and swirled my wine, "And the answer to all of them is because it's sara." 

"Don't do this please" My father interrupted me.

And I interrupted him right back, "Dad, I swear if you say one more word," It wasn't about him. It wasn't about mom. It was about Sara. And me. And how I no longer had to feel like a shit human being because I was angry at her.

"Laurel, look," Sara said as she took a step toward me and I took a step back. I downed my wine and went back for the next glass. It was the only thing that was keeping me from punching her in the nose and starting to get back some of my life that she had stolen from me. "I know you're angry. And you have every right to be. Please don't take this out on dad, if you need someone to blame, blame me," 

"Oh, I do blame you, Sara," I told her nearing the point of no return. I had my sister back, but I also had the woman who caused me so much pain and so much agony.  The woman who didn't care about how her actions rippled out and made other people's lives worse.  I had the woman who took my sister away from me, because I loved her, but she had done me the ultimate betrayal. "Every single thing that has gone wrong in our lives is your fault," I told her. "You got on that stupid boat with my boyfriend. You didn't call us to tell us that you were still alive. Even though it probably would have saved mom and dad's marriage. And you brought some crazy assassin to Starling City who nearly killed mom and who poisoned me. You, you stole my whole life," And the thing about it was, the hurt look in her eyes, she didn't even care. She didn't care that the rest of us had endured so much more than just having to readjust after she died. 

I was done feeling like second best and the bad guy to Sara. She blamed me for everything that went wrong before she got on that boat and she was allowed to do it and now it was time she took some real blame. And she looked at me with those hurt eyes again like I was breaking her arm. "Get out," I told her. 

"Laurel,"

"Get out," I raised my voice. I was in no mood to feel like shit again. She didn't move, just had those sad eyes again. No. I was done grieving. That process was over. She was still beautiful and perfect. "Get. Out." I seethed.

She stomped right past me and moodily took her jacket from the rack with an attitude.  She turned back to me. "I'm sorry," Like that made it better. 

"I SAID GET OUT," I shouted at her and threw my empty glass. The door shut so it didn't hit her, but dammit I wanted it to so badly. Because everyone was gonna take her side. Everyone was gonna see her as this perfect angel come back to earth. Everyone. My mother. My father. The people of Starling. Oliver. They all thought she was perfect. And I had to be okay with being damaged and second place and I couldn't anymore. I hated my own sister, but at least I could do it knowing she wasn't dead. 


	8. Slipping Past His Defense (Without Granting Innocence)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver has another argument with Moira and there's only one person who can make him see the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Slipping Past His Defense (Without Granting Innocence)  
> Words: 2613  
> Pairing: Laurel/Oliver  
> Genre: Comfort/Romance  
> Status: Done.

"That's very well and everything, but you cannot see her right now. I promise you when this is all settled and you pop back up in the news you may see her," A voice came from the library. 

No one had gone in there for years. It was the first place that he and Laurel were supposed to go when they met, but no one else really had an attachment to the room.  

He pushed open the door and saw his mother. with Malcolm Merlyn. "I see I've interrupted something," He said with a blush.  He walked back out of the doorway and down the hall again. Malcolm Merlyn was alive. Really alive. 

"Oliver, wait," His mother yelled as she walked down the hall. Moira never ran, nothing was ever important enough to run. And when she did, you should to, because it was life and death. "I can see your upset." 

"Upset doesn't begin to cover it, mom," He let out.  God, how could she let that monster back into their home? Granted all he was here to do was to pick up a few things and get his laundry done, but she didn't have the right. He killed 503 people. 

Moira looked him in the eye and sighed, "I haven't been the best mother to you and I'm sorry for that. But I'm thinking about Thea right now. Her biological father is alive and you want me to stop lying to her. So I'm going to let him back into her life. When he comes forward about being alive. I see no other way she can possibly know," She stated in a cool voice that begged that if he defied her that he would see no mercy from her hand.

"Thea's father is Robert. I don't care what some DNA says.  She is his daughter, not Merlyn's. And I'm certainly not gonna let him try to corrupt her the way he tried to corrupt Tommy," He yelled. 

Moira didn't flinch.  "This is not about you, Oliver. You don't get to decide what Thea knows and what she doesn't, because you've already proven yourself to be just as unflinching as I am in that regard. This is about me doing what is best for her.  And you can stay out of it."

"This isn't over," Oliver muttered as he turned and left.

Moira shook her head. "No, it's definitely not," She smiled to herself.  Her son didn't know who he was trying to play, but it wasn't going to work. She had worked far too hard for far too long learning to play the game that he was just barely getting out of the box. 

She returned to the library and smiled. "So it's settled then? You are going to make a public declaration of being alive again?" She asked him. 

"Are you okay? I mean it looked like your son wasn't so keen on having me back." He asked with a bit of a goofy smile. 

No one would believe that Malcolm Merlyn could have a goofy smile and a warm heart, but she saw it.  Maybe it was just under more layers than people liked to go through, but it was there and in the rare moments that you saw it, it was a beautiful thing. "My son doesn't take to any decision I make.  But I know the one person who has always been able to change his mind," She told Malcolm.  "Now, if you'll give me a second, I need to make a phone call," 

"Take as long as you need, I've got all day." He said as he hopped on the counter space between the books and the large living space.

The next day, he went to bed at the Queen Mansion for the first time in weeks and it felt glorious not to sleep on something that had a little bit of cushion. He couldn't get too used to it, because softness came if you got too comfortable, but he loved the occasional luxury.

That was till he woke up. 

"Come on, time to get up, you curmudgeon. Time to greet the day," She said as she stole the blanket from him and pushed the curtains wide open. 

He blinked a couple of times and looked at his watch. "What time is it? I thought it was Saturday." He groaned. 

"It's about nine AM and it is indeed Saturday." She said as she looked down on him, "Doesn't mean that we don't have things to do and talk about," She told him.

"Laaaaaaurel," He begged. "I just want to sleep," 

She shook her head, "Tough tomatoes, sweet cheeks. I know all about you and your mother's latest argument." 

He groaned again.  "That's why you're here. She called you," He said as he looked at the ceiling and contemplated his life. He could get away easily, but she'd never let him live it down if he tried. 

"Not the only reason. I asked Felicity and Diggle too.  They say it's affecting all aspects of your life. And you need someone to talk about it with, so we're going for brunch and you're gonna talk about it.  Get dressed," She told him.

He moaned one more time. There really was no getting out of this. If Felicity and Diggle had told Laurel that he wasn't doing well, then that meant they were on her side and he'd never hear the end of it if he skipped out on this.  He could just lie to her, but given that she already knew about the problem, it probably wouldn't help. Dammit. Why? That was the question. He grabbed some jeans and a nice button up and put them on before getting his shoes and heading to find Laurel.

She was reaching out to touch something and he looked over it, it was a picture of her, him, and tommy.  They had her on their shoulders and it looked like she was a queen with her two princes. It wasn't necessarily untrue.  He looked back from the picture and looked to her. She was beautiful, impeccably dressed, in a fitted corseted cheetah print top with some studs accentuating the right areas and naturally situated things in a pretty way and then a skirt that was shorter than she would have used for work, but fitted around her like it was made for her by the gods. "Like the view?" She asked him, with an eyebrow quirked.

He blushed and turned his attention to the floor, caught was never a good look on him.  He adjusted his belt, "Let's go," He said as followed her out of the house. 

Oliver opened her door for her and let her get in and he was about to shut the door for her, but she stopped and looked back to him, up at him.  He shouldn't think about that too hard.  Seeing Laurel look up at him with a good sparkle in his eyes, he took a deep breath and put his hand on the car. "You know I'm not really in the mood for brunch.  Stuffy people. Not enough space to talk. Your mother's idea. I think we should ditch it.  Maybe that place by the pier?" She asked him and licked her lips.  He didn't know what to say.  She put her legs in and smirked at him, "Just a thought," 

He pushed her door closed and got into the car on his side. That place by the pier was always their code. It was when they wanted to get away and no one could know. There were plenty of restaurants next to the pier. "Sounds good," He said as he buckled himself in and pushed the accelerator down to the ground. 

He took down to "that place by the pier" which was not actually a restuarant at all. It was an apartment that Tommy had paid for with his trust fund money that they all came down to when they needed time away from everyone. It was a no cell phone kind of place. Which is the first thing he did, put his cell phone in the bowl and Laurel did too. "Nothing's changed with this place," He said, "God, he did us such a solid getting us this." 

Laurel smiled to him and kissed her fingertips and pressed them to Tommy's picture's lips. "Well, he always did like watching," She joked a little. He chuckled, it came a little closer to the truth than he admitted with anyone else. "Now, come on, you're supposed to be cooking me food," She told him.

"Fine fine fine." He said as he went to the kitchenette and she slipped off her shoes, something so simple and yet it was an act of supreme trust.  She hated her feet and when she let someone else see them, it was huge. He still had her trust. He started working on the food, pasta and garlic bread.

She couldn't believe how domestic it was. The only way it would have been better was if Tommy had been their to cuddle them both and tell them they were avoiding the issue. She didn't want to get to it quite yet, but Tommy always knew what was up. It still felt like a huge hole to not have him. She turned on the TV and got the dishes out and started setting the table. 

"I'm surprised you haven't asked about it," Oliver said, stirring the noodles and looking over to her as she stood at the table.  

She shook her head. "We have time," She said to him as she crossed the threshold and kissed his cheek, "Besides, I don't want you burning the garlic bread," She told him with a smile. 

And the timer went off and he winked at her. "Yeah, well, the sauce is gonna be done in about two minutes," He replied to her.  They did have time. They had all the time in the world. This was the home that built them.  They were different people in here. They never lied to each other here. He didn't know why they hadn't decided to move in here when she wanted to look into apartments. Yeah, it probably would have still been for nothing, but she wanted something that was so theirs back then. And he was ready to be a man.

They ate their pasta and watched trashy television, the formal settings on the table all but forgotten as she laughed brazenly at Dewey in School of Rock. God, the movie wasn't great, but it made her laugh in that way that she always did when she didn't think anyone was looking, genuine. 

"Malcolm is alive." He said to her and she looked to him as she lowered the volume on the TV.  She was quiet and he went on. "Slade told Thea that Malcolm is her father. And that I was keeping that secret from her. So was my mother. But now she wants to tell Thea that he's alive again." 

"And you think that would be bad because Dad was her dad?" She asked him as she teared up a little. They hadn't talked about this in a long time, but she had been excited about coming into the Queen family. Robert asked her to call him Dad too, for at least a year before he died. 

He nodded.

Laurel scooted over and hugged him.  She closed her eyes and felt his body close to hers. She felt his breathing regulate and he sighed.  She smiled to him a little.  "Ollie, you know that Robert will always be her dad?" She asked him.  He shook his head. "He will. He will always be her dad. He will always be the one who watched her learn how to ride a bike. And got her first bank account. And went to her first recital. And the first one to say no to a crazy tattoo idea she had when she was thirteen. Even if Malcolm come in now, he can't ever take that way, okay?" She asked him as she let him out of the hug and put her hands on the sides of his face so that he had to look her in the eye. 

He nodded and hugged her again.  "How are you so level headed about this?" He asked her.

"Because for me, it's about Thea. And what she deserves.  And she deserves someone who takes care of her. And you just needed someone to shift the perspective," She told him, grinning as she looked into his eyes. "You've always needed me for that," 

He chuckled. "You were always the one who knew me best," He said and he took a chance.  He saw a look in her eyes, that sparkle that suggested she liked this more than she was letting on, and maybe he wasn't crazy. 

The longing hadn't been unbearable before, but he realized he missed this, missed her lips on his, the cherry taste of her lip balm, so subtly placed underneath that immaculate lipstick. He got lost in her perfume, the clever daisy scent of marc jacobs.  Her arms went around his neck and she climbed into his lap and he smiled.  She was perfect. 

When she pulled away she had the stupidest grin on her face and he grinned right back, closing his eyes just a little. "You think he would be happy for us?" He asked, looking over to Tommy's picture.

She nodded. "He would. You know he willed this place to me. Because and I quote, 'You and Oliver won't have me to work it out for you, so I bequeath to you the one place you are both nakedly honest with each other, the place by the pier.' I think he knew that something was gonna come up. And he'd be happy your keeping Thea's best interests as your main priority." 

"Only with your help," He said.

She shrugged. "You always were pretty stupid."

"You always were the only one stubborn enough to change my mind," He said as he held her in his lap. 

She wiggled and the look of shock on his face was absolutely priceless.  "Are you...?" He asked, not quite sure what he was asking.

"I want to do what like Tommy would tell us to do. I want to try again. Because you never give up on true love." She beamed at him.

He nodded. The idea wasn't terrible. "He always believed in us," 

"Do you believe in us?" She asked him, because really that's what this was about.  It was about them. 

He laughed to himself.  God, she was so stubborn sometimes. She was his only one. "I've always believed in you. It's why I even got out of bed for you this morning.  It's myself that I sometimes have a problem with believing in." 

"I've always believed in you." She said, kissing him on the nose.

He smiled and put his forehead on hers, "Well, then to honor Tommy's memory, we should preserve the one Merlyn legacy that mattered the most to Tommy, being true to the ones we love. " He said. It was cheesy, but it didn't really matter to him because she was the only one he liked to be cheesy with. "I love you, Laur," 

"I love you too, Ollie," She nuzzled her nose into his neck and he twitched. Ticklish.  God, she forgot how much she loved just being in his arms. "I guess we should say a toast to the Merlyns."

"To the Merlyns, bringing us together and showing us love is the answer."  He said.

She nodded. "To the Merlyns." 


	9. I'm All Alone (I need You Now)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Arrow goes to fight Slade and he goes to kill Sara when he kills Laurel instead. Oliver holds her in his arms till she forgoes life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: I'm All Alone (I Need You Now)  
> Words: 2282  
> Pairing: Laurel/Oliver  
> Status: Done.

"I'm going," Laurel stood her ground.

Oliver wanted to make her stay away. This shit was dangerous and she wasn't quite ready. But the look in her eyes, he couldn't. She had lost so much to the darkness and she wanted to take a little bit of it back. He could understand why. He sighed. She wouldn't let him tell him no anyway. "Okay, but you need to stay safe, okay?" He asked.

She smiled and gently pressed her lips to his as she turned away, "Always, Ollie,"

He smiled. That was the girl he loved. She had her smile back and it was the most beautiful thing that he could see. He looked to Felicity and thought about her behind him. "Are we ready to get into Slade's compound?" He asked.

She typed furiously into her computer and turned around to him. "Yes, we are. Laurel's voice modulator has a locator and it will chirp when you're there," She told him as she turned back to her computer. "And I'll be monitoring from here,"

"Why does mine not have a locator?" He asked.

She turned back and smiled at him like he was an idiot, "Because you have never asked. And Laurel decided that I was more than just a code monkey. So if you want to stop treating me like a code monkey, maybe I'll make you some nice things," She said as she smiled at Laurel, who waved back to Felicity. There was something going on there.

"Right," He said as he looked back to his glass case. "Time to suit up,"

Laurel went to the dressing room, something she was insistent upon, because dressing in the tiny bathroom and waiting for him was barbaric. He actually had to admit that it was a pretty good idea, and he liked having them in the foundry, the arrow cave, whatever they called it now.

He took his costume out and went to the other dressing room and suited up. It was easy enough when he did it in the bathroom, but having more room to suit up was kind of nice. It wasn't like it was the lap of luxury the man he was before the island would be used to, but it was nice. It was nice to have the an inkling of the days before the darkness back.

Laurel knocked on the door, "You ready? Roy and Sara are itching to be out," She asked him with smile.

He nodded, "Let's get the this over, the sooner, the better."

And they were off, Roy and Sara in a car that Roy had hotwired and Laurel and Oliver on his motorcycle. He drove and she hung onto him for dear life, all of curves molding to him.

Her voice modulator chirped its canary song and he stopped. It seemed like a regular building, but he knew Slade and it would be far from ordinary on the inside.

Sara walked up and stood beside them. "You ready?" She asked.

"Yeah," Laurel said in a quiet voice and he squeezed her hand. She was going to do great. Her mission was to help them and then she would be given the case if he could be taken alive.

Oliver looked over to Roy who just laughed. "We're ready," He gritted. Stupid kid didn't know anything.

It was a flurry of bullets and men when they walked in after Felicity hacked the system for them. "I couldn't make it any easier," She said into their ears. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, pink. You did as much as you could," Laurel reassured and her voice soothed all of them as the only sound that they could hear anymore was cracking bones and people going down. "Shit," She muttered to herself and he looked over to her.

He went over to her and tried to find what happened, "You okay?" He asked, worried.

She shook her head, "It was just a graze," She said, showing him her arm where the bullet had taken some of her skin, but hadn't lodged in. "I'm fine. Come on," She told him.

His girl was bigger than he thought. They opened the next door together and saw Slade. He was sitting in a chair like he had nothing better to do but wait for them because obviously they were going to lose. "So you have survived the onslaught, but you will not survive now." Slade said to him as he signaled to someone who took a hold of Roy and made him useless in the battle.

He then shot at Sara. "Now, it's just the two of you. The Arrow and his true Canary." His face brightened a little and he smirked a little. "I had to admit that I didn't see her coming to your side, but I should have known. I should have known that the woman you loved would be just as pig headed as you are. And now you'll both have to endure a devastating loss."

They were wrapped up by minion hands, Blood took Laurel and the look in her eyes, he had never seen it. It looked like fury on steroids. There was enough hate to power a small country in those eyes. Her fight had clearly only gotten better. And Isabel took him. She had mirakuru in her that she hadn't had the last time they'd met.

"He chose you," Slade spat at Sara. "They will pay for his ignorance."

Sara cried a little, "He didn't mean to. He wanted to save her. He was trying to save us both. Slade, please, you have to believe me,"

"The time is too late for that," He said, finally. "Do you have any last words?"

"She loved you. She wouldn't want this. The person she was would hate the way you are now." She told him, trying to give him as good as he got.

He rolled his eyes, "Right, well, be prepared to tell her how terrible I am without her. After all, you were the reason she's not here." He told her and fired the bullet, but he didn't hear a scream for Sara.

He heard Laurel's scream and he looked down, seeing her clutching her stomach, "Oh boy, my lucky day," He said with a smile. "The canary there to fight for her sister. You are stupid as he is." He said, nodding over to where he thought Oliver should be.

"She's smarter than you," Oliver gritted as he broke Slade's neck and then looked down at Laurel, "Laur," He said as he got on his knees. "Where'd he get you?" He asked.

Her hands quivered away from the wound. Right in the middle of her stomach. She wasn't making it out of here. "You're gonna make it," He sobbed. "We're gonna get you out of here, I promise," He trembled. Sara took Roy by the hand and took him out.

"Ollie," Laurel smiled sadly, "We both know that's not true."

"Dammit, Laurel," He cried as he cradled her in his arms, "You were supposed to make it out of this. You were supposed to be there with me. Forever."

"I'm scared," Her voice quivered.

He rocked her back and forth and smiled sadly. "You were so brave,"

She lifted her hand up, filled with the metaphorical lead of dying and wiped away some of his tears. "Sing to me?" She asked him.

He couldn't think of any song to sing except an old lullaby he remembered singing to Thea and to her when she couldn't sleep. "Okay, I can do that," He told her as he tried to calm down but only ended up working himself up even more. "God, I'm so sorry. This was never supposed to happen," He said as he held her and started to sing.

_You are my sunshine,_ _My only sunshine  
_ _You make me happy when clouds are gray,_

He crooned it brokenly as she smiled sadly back up at him. "That's it," She encouraged him. God, how could he let this happen? Even as she lay dying in his arms, all she was thinking about was that he knew that he was doing a good job and helping her.

_You'll never know dear, how much I love you  
_ _Please don't take my sunshine away._

His dear Laurel, he could see her eyes closing because they were too heavy now. The love of his life and he sobbed once more because this was it. "Hold on for a little longer," He pleaded. "Please don't leave me, Laurel, dammit, I don't know that I can do it without you,"

"I'm so tired, Ollie." She stated and tears streamed down her face. She was in a lot of pain. "Sing to me a little more,"

_You are my sunshine,_ _My only sunshine  
_ _You make me happy when clouds are gray,  
 _You'll never know dear, how much I love you  
_ _Please don't take my sunshine away.__   


___You are my sunshine,_ _My only sunshine  
_ _You make me happy when clouds are gray,  
 _You'll never know dear, how much I love you  
_ _Please don't take my sunshine away.__ _ _

He sang the verses and finished the song up. And then she gone. Slade killed her. He killed Slade, but it still made him feel empty because he didn't have the one he loved to share the victory with him. And he took away her second chance away from her.

When her heart stopped beating, he pulled down her eyelids. "God, I loved you so much," He said, giving her one last kiss while her lips were still warm and let her go for a minute.

He stood up and wiped away the tears as he looked down at her body and sighed. He picked her up bridal style and put the ring he had in his pocket on her finger. She should know in death that he wanted to be hers forever.

He went out the front door and looked at Sara and Roy who didn't know what to say as they saw Laurel's lifeless body. "She's really..."

"Yes," Oliver said. "You two need to take the bike," He told them, handing Sara the keys. "She deserves to be buried,"

He put her in the car and it honestly just looked like she was sleeping. She'd have never let him hear the end of it if she had known that he put her in a hotwired car. Her sense of justice would beat him senseless for that. He cried silently as he drove very fast to the foundry. Faster than he drove before when he didn't understand consequences, when only she could make him see the light.

He stopped at the foundry and Felicity opened up. "Oh god, she needs help," Felicity said as she saw Laurel's eyes closed and just assumed she was unconscious. Once she opened the door though, "Oh god, she's dead," She sobbed

"She is," He told her as he got out of the car and picked her up and gently laid a kiss on her head. "She died a hero when she shouldn't have had to die at all. I told her she should have stayed away. But she was so damn brave," And the tears kept coming more and more. "I should have stood up to her. Told her that she could stay and be just as brave."

Felicity held her hand and cried a little. "You know she told me that she always loved you. Loved the parts that made her crazy. She said when she gave you that picture of her, she had one of you in her wallet at all times, so she could talk to you."

"Yeah?" He asked. He spent so much time on that island just wondering what it would be like to talk to her again and it comforted him that she would have thought about the same thing.

She nodded to him, "Yeah, she said that whenever she was sad, it was always a thought of you that brought her back to reality," She told him.

"She's exactly what I need to bring me back to reality, but she's gone. She's really gone and I can't believe it. I never imagined a future without her. Where do I go from here?" He asked her with water running down his face.

Felicity pushed him to look at her. "You go where she would. To the justice. You make the world better. And you fight for her. This isn't over. It's not over until the doctors say it's over. You take her to a hospital."

"I don't know if I can. I already lost her once. I don't know if I can deal with a doctor telling me she's gone for good."

"Well, then I'm taking her there, but dammit, I'm not letting her deal with you never knowing where you're going. Let her moral compass be your guiding light if she's dead. But dammit Ollie, she would not want you wallowing and I will be damned if I let you dishonor her memory like that."

"You called me, Ollie," He said. She blinked at him. "You never call me, Ollie."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Don't get used to it. I know she used it. And I knew it would snap you out of it. Get in there and take the hood off and then meet me at Starling General." She said as she got in the car.

He didn't want to hope, but if felicity believed it, even if it was blind hope, maybe she could still be alive. That pain hurt his heart, but it was better than thinking that the skies were gray forever.


	10. Wear Out the Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity is throwing a big party and Oliver makes Laurel jealous by making it out that he and Felicity were a couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Wear Out the Words  
> Words: 2033  
> Pairing: Oliver/Felicity, Laurel/Oliver  
> Genre: Angst/Romance  
> Status: Done.

"Hey," She said to Felicity as she got into the party. It was mainly people Felicity knew from work, but Felicity insisted that Laurel would be completely comfortable here. And that there would people to mingle with that would love her.

Felicity hugged her.  "God, you look great, babe. God, you need to take me with you when you go shopping,"

Laurel blushed a little. It was a deep v-neck in an emerald green and some dark wash jeans with some silver heels. Really it was nothing.  It just looked really fancy.  "You don't need any help from me. I'm sure you're beating off men with sticks," Laurel said as she got a drink, a sparkling cider of some kind that had no alcohol in it.  

She was actually feeling better about alcohol now, but she wanted to wait a year before she started to even delve back into to the world. She figured that was an appropriate time to see if she could moderate rather than cold turkey and that was still awhile away.  She needed to live life without a drink in her hand first to be able to tell herself that she could do it. 

"Not like you I'm sure," Felicity said. "I saw that article. Most Eligible Bachelorette in Starling City. It's a huge honor," She said.

"Yeah," It was a nice cover and it was great for her image and great for the image of the justice system, but there was only one person she wanted and he didn't seem to want anything to do with her. "Just waiting for the right man to come along," She said as she saw Oliver perusing in the background.

He saw both of the girls and they both waved at him at the same time and he waved back at them and finished with the people he was no doubt entertaining and then came up to them. 

She was about to say hi to him when he went and leaned a kiss on Felicity and then she had to turn around and go find somewhere else to be. Because Felicity really? Could he get a little bit more incestious? Dating the assistant? She loved Felicity, but didn't he have one woman in his life that he just had as a friend that wasn't directly related to him? 

Laurel looked at Felicity's book. She'd seen them a zillion times before, but she certainly needed to wedge herself in with people who Oliver wouldn't talk to and book people weren't really his kind of people. She smiled awkwardly to them and looked at her drink and they did the same, carrying on the conversation like she wasn't even there. 

She looked over her shoulder and there he is with Felicity and she's laughing and god dammit, why does that give her a knot in her stomach?  She wants to know why people do this to other people? 

He looks over to her and she looks over at another man and starts to flirting with him.  She can tell this makes his blood boil. It should. He was the one who started it. 

"So baby, what's your sign?" The random passerby said.

She rolled her eyes, "Stop," She replied as she went to go leave. God, she couldn't take it. 

She grabbed her purse off the bar and headed for the door. This party blew. The music was decent, but she didn't drink and everyone was a QC employee except her. "Where do you think you're going?" Oliver as in her ear.

"Home," She told him.

He looked at her with a puzzled expression. "So early?" He asked.

"Well, it's not really my scene. I don't know anyone here. And I have work in the morning." She said, trying to get away from him. It was easier to deal with him when he was across the room making googly eyes at his precious Felicity.  Even if it killed her.

He held her wrist, "Look, I can introduce you to people. They'd love to meet you. And you do know people. You're just avoiding them. Which I can't figure out why that would possibly be." 

God, he was so stupid sometimes. Why did she like his big stupid face? "You really have absolutely no idea why I'm avoiding the exactly three people here that I do know? And why other people are avoiding me? You have no clue?" She asked him with an absolute no bullshit, no time for that look. 

"You think that people are avoiding you?" He asked.

She laughed a little sardonically.  "Oliver, I don't think. I know. And I know why. And you would to, if you admitted it to yourself for one minute," 

"You don't," He said, not wanting to finish that statement. "No, that's not what this is. I promise you.  Everyone's just intimidated." 

She sighed. "Well, try this on for size. I am not intimidated by Felicity or Diggle or you for that matter. And I'm avoiding you. There's a reason for that," She said and took her wrist out of his grasp.  

"Are you jealous?" He asked her as he lead her into a room where there was no one and they could talk openly. 

She didn't look at him until she did and she growled as she relented to him. "Yes!" She shouted. "I'm jealous, does that make you happy? Does it make you happy that you being nauseatingly cute with your assistant, my friend, upsets the hell out of me? That it makes me want to leave? That it makes me a leper at functions where QC is involved because everyone in Starling knows about you and me?" She asked him as her hands flew into the air. 

He grabbed her smooth cheeks with both hands and kissed her, breathing in her sweet scent and relishing in the the minty taste on her lips, probably from all that chocolate candy she'd been eating.  She squealed underneath him and he took a step back and looked at her, thoroughly shocked.

"What the hell, Ollie? You can't just do that. You're fucking dating my friend. I don't know what you heard on that damn island, but I am not like my sister, I don't do that." She said as she stepped back toward the wall, a look of fear in her eyes.

He took a seat on the bed.  "Don't you get it?" He asked her.

"Get what?" She yelled at him.

He shook his head, "You think Felicity and I could ever?" He asked her and she honestly didn't know. 

"You mean," She asked, trying to get to the bedrock of it. "You're not?" 

He smiled openly and invited her onto his lap.  "I am definitely not dating Felicity. I can't believe you were jealous." He said, flipping her onto the bed. "I think that means you're still in love with me," 

She smiled a little, "Maybe I am, one way to find out," She told him with the a twinkle in her eye that definitely suggested that whatever she had planned, she wanted to show him something devious.

"Oh yeah?" He asked, "How?" 

"Kiss me again, you fool," She said with a bit of a laugh and he did. This time it was lighter than the last, languid. Their lips moved lazily with each other and she smiled at him.  Yeah, this was definitely more like it. 

She moved her kisses down his neck and he gasped.  "Laurel," He said.  He knew that this was really what she wanted, but they probably shouldn't move so fast. "Come on, Laurel." He whined as she hit a sweet spot and he bunched the sheets up in his hands.

"What?" She asked, looking innocently at him. Yeah, that halo was only held up the devilish smirk on her face. Then of course, there was that top she was wearing.

First of all, it was green and her being wrapped in that green color, just made him sort of proud. She wasn't even his girl tonight and managed to be his girl. And then there was the fact that it was cut to where he could see down the whole thing with the way she was angled on him. "You know, what, forget I said anything," He said as he scooted her closer to his center.

She bit her lip.  "You know, you're right, we should go out there and go dance," She said to him as she got off of him. 

He looked horrified. "Really, Laur? You're making me go out there," He asked her.

She nodded to him giddily, "Come on. We need to tell your fake girlfriend the good news. And then I want to dance. I promise you can use me as a shield.  We'll keep your dignity intact," She told him as she put his arms around her, "Ready?" She asked him.

He nodded. Laurel got what she wanted. That was the way it was.  Besides seeing her stew for even a minute was his favorite part of the night, but it also made him sad.  But Felicity would be thrilled to hear that they liked each other again.  She was all on the Laurel and Oliver are meant to be train.  He didn't know where she got it, but best not to question it, especially when she let him do crazy things like make Laurel believe that they were dating for a brief moment so that he and Laurel could get back together.

They made their way back to Felicity who looked like a cat who ate a Canary.  "I'm assuming with the way you guys were in that bedroom for way too long that you're coming to tell me that you guys are back together." 

Laurel nodded. "Thank you for the kick in the pants," She said to Felicity as she hugged the other girl.

Felicity smiled and wrapped her arms around Laurel.  "You'll do the same thing for me when I need it, I expect." She said as she came out of the hug.

"Oh don't you forget it. Sisters for life," Laurel said, fist bumping Felicity and Oliver looked on in a sort of mad fascination.

"Sisters for life." Felicity said. "Now, go celebrated being happy with each other." 

"Sisters for life?" He asked them.

They nodded. "We have so much experience that we share. We understand each other like sisters. Get with the program," Felicity said to him and rolled her eyes. "I should go find Digg. He'll want to hear the good news." Felicity said as she took off in the other direction, towards the kitchen where Diggle was no doubt cleaning something because someone had turned something over. 

Laurel pulled him to the place where people where dancing and drops of jupiter by train came on.  He was glad for it too.  He didn't know ho much he could take of Laurel bumping and grinding up against him.  Seeing her jealous was an experience, but he wanted to savor this try.  "This song reminds me of you," He told her and she blushed. They swayed on the dancefloor happily and he even gave her a little bit of a dip.  "I was crazy for ever believing for a second that it wasn't you." 

"You were," She told him with a crazy grin on her face, "But you know, no one's perfect. Although, I hear that Starling City's most eligible bachelorette gets pretty close." She winked at him. 

"Oh, I"m sure she does," He laughed at her. "I've met her a time or two. She is pretty out of this world." 

"Oh," She said in that voice that reminded him that he was in trouble, "If you ever try to pull that trick on her again, she'll flay you alive."  She told him and he gulped.  He wasn't sure that was an idle threat.  He also knew that playing with other women in his life was a dangerous game.

He nodded to her. "I will keep that in mind," He told her.  The song ended and he smiled down at her, "You want to get out of here? Maybe go get some food?' He asked.

"Food sounds great." 


	11. Stay, Instead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel buries Sara for the second time and she goes to the bar to drink herself into oblivion, but Oliver follows her and stops her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Stay, Instead  
> Words: 2315.  
> Pairing: Laurel/Oliver.  
> Genre: Hurt/Romance.   
> Status: Done.

They all shoveled dirt onto Sara's grave that now had Sara in it. She paid for that damn tombstone more than six years ago and now at least it was being used. 

Quentin stayed with Sara to pay his final respects and Laurel just turned on her heel and left. 

Her face remained dry throughout the entire thing and he knew that was a problem. That was a very big problem. Laurel felt things in a way that was like looking through the window of a house, you could see exactly what was going on inside.

He followed her to the parking lot and saw her open up her trunk and put her yellow and black blazer in, a nice nod to what Sara did.  She then dropped her skirt and bent down and picked it up and put it in too.  

He noticed that what he thought was one complete dress was in fact not one.  Well, it was, but it wasn't.  The long sleeved dress had the shortest skirt he'd seen in awhile and she'd worn a skirt on top of it to make it more funeral appropriate.  

"That's certainly an outfit for going home," He told her.

She snorted and pushed the trunk door down. "Not going home," She told him. 

"Where are you going?" He asked.

She unlocked her car and for the first time since they'd been having the conversation, she looked at him. "To a bar." 

He grabbed her wrist. "What about your sobriety?" She was doing so well. She hadn't had a drink in over a year and she was at the top of her game. She was training. She was fighting with them. She went to work everyday and helped people. He couldn't believe that she still kept her job after everything. 

She blew a breath out, "What about it? Doesn't matter anyway." She took her wrist away from him and got into her car and drove off. 

Thea wasn't at the bar so he couldn't call her and tell her to make sure Laurel didn't drink, but he could follow her and he planned on doing exactly that.  

He got into his car and drove after her.

The good thing was that she went to Verdant because she was a creature of habit and he had said that she could have a drink on his dime when he was trying to give her some tough love.  Wasn't his greatest speech and that line definitely wasn't what he wanted from her. 

He parked the car and waved to the bouncer as he went in. He greeted people because that is what expected of you when you own the bar and your sister manages it.  He looked for her through it all.  He couldn't quite see her. "Is Thea okay?" Someone asked. "Yeah, we haven't seen her all day," Another person threw in.

"Yeah," He said with a smile, and shaking off looking for Laurel. He almost hadn't heard them. "We had a funeral for a friend. It was last minute and she didn't have time to tell everyone. She told the supervising manager, so you shouldn't have a problem," He told them as he caught a glimpse of Laurel who already three empty glasses in front of her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do," He told them as he pushed passed them.

He heard them talking about him, but he honestly didn't care that much about them. He just sat by her and smiled a little sadly. "You can say it. You're disappointed in me. It's fine." She said, without looking at him.

"How'd you know it was me?" Oliver asked, a sympathetic frown on his face.

She looked at him with an eyebrow inching into her hairline, "Please, Ollie, if I had wanted to shake you I could have. Felicity wasn't there to track me with her phone. I came here because I knew you would be right behind me. And you'd have a few obligations before you got to me," She told him as she took another shot and shook her head. 

He took one of her shots. "So why'd you come at all?" He asked as he bobbed it back.  God, straight tequila. She really was serious about this buzz that she was getting. 

"Because she's really dead." Laurel said, finally. She didn't look at him or the bartender or anyone really. She looked out into space and then shook her head. "Sara wasn't the best sister. She did some really shitty things to me. But that was part of the deal when I got her back. I had to deal with the fact that she was the same person she always was. That, as much as we like to think we do, we don't really change as much as think." She took another drink.

"You know she'd want you to go on with your life? She'd want you to be happy." Oliver tried to be helpful.

Laurel smiled that smile wasn't a smile, but a weapon of sadness, and shook her head.  "What does it really matter what she wanted? No one who's around me stays untroubled for too long." She said and took a chaser of wine. 

He shook his head. "That is absolutely not true," He told her.

"Really?" She asked, hatred in her eyes. "All the people I've lost. You, Robert, Tommy, and Sara. Twice. My father is a mess, again. My mother lost the only daughter she ever really loved. And I dated a fucking psychopath last year. I don't want to live anymore, Oliver, do you get it? I just don't want to be in anymore pain." She cried and he took her in his arms.

She wrapped her arms around him and he could feel the stiff shirt being softened while she soaked it with her tears. He lead her to the manager's office and laid them down on the couch.  This wasn't the time to talk about her drinking. Especially considering that she let him in and didn't shut him out. "You don't have to be in pain all the time.  I'm gonna be here. I'm always gonna be here for you." He told her. 

She looked up at him and those eyes, mascara ran from them, they were puffy and red, but they still looked like the most beautiful blue eyes he'd ever seen. "How can I not be? I'm like the human equivalent of a black thumb." She said.

"Because you're always gonna have someone to lean on. I promise." He said, not letting her go.

She settled into him and laid her head down on his chest.  "You're sweet when you want to be, Queen." 

"Only with people who matter." He told her as he rested his head on hers and let himself relax a little bit. They weren't perfect, but they could be.  And Laurel certainly was gonna have good days and bad days, but this was a start. And a start was better than nothing. 

He didn't know how long he really sat  there in silence till she started snoring and he couldn't escape the grin that sat on his face. He kissed her hair and fell asleep as he wrapped her up in his arms. 

She needed to know that someone would always be with her and well, the best way he knew that was through physical contact. 

She shrieked and he woke up with a jerk.  His hands went to her face, showing her that he was there, "You're okay. Laur.  You're okay."

"Ollie?" She asked.

He nodded as he sat up and cradled her head with one hand and cradled her body close to him with the other. "You're okay."

"She's dead."

He nodded. "Yeah, she is." 

She rubbed her eyes and looked at the floor. "I should go home." 

"Can I come with you?" He asked her as he tried to find her face.

She looked over to him. "You want to come home with me?" 

"Yes. I do. I want to keep my promise. I want to have someone to lean on." He told her with a bit of a genuine smile.  

She sat there, sort of shocked. "You know, Ollie, you don't have to do this. I get it you're worried about me, but you don't need to do this." She told him.

He shook his head. "If you think I'm doing this out of some blind adulation or obligation, I'm not. I love you. And I'm worried about you. You seemed intent on poisoning yourself last night." He said, softly.

She bared her teeth.  "I don't need you around if you're just gonna shame me for dealing with grief again. I had enough of that when she came back," She said as she snatched up her shoes.  She didn't remember taking them off, but Thea probably came and saw them and put them on the floor. She stood up and wobbled.

He stood up and put his hands on her hips as he stood behind her. "I'm not trying to shame you. I'm sorry. But it looked like you were ready to die last night. And that is not something I want." He whispered and he hooked his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes.

"I was." She admitted. "I still kind of am."

He took her hand in his and showed it to her. "You matter, Laurel.  You matter to me. You matter to Diggle and Felicity. You matter to your father. You matter to this city.  And you deserve to see that.  This?" He asked her. "This is just a symbol. Our fingers entwined. I couldn't do any of what I do without you." He told her.

"Yeah?" She asked him quietly.

"Five years I was trapped on an island and it was hell.  It was the worst thing that I could ever imagine being through. And in that five years, the only thing I thought about was getting back to you. Showing you how much I loved you. I used your picture everyday.  I talked to you." He told her because she deserved to know that he couldn't go on without her. She was his constant.  "Without you, I'd probably be dead by now. But I came back for you. And I need you, still. So please, let's just go home and sleep again?

She looked back to him and broke their fingers entwine and threw her arms around his neck. He'd never told her that before and he sort of expected a different reaction. But this, this was good."Why didn't you tell me that before?" She whispered into his skin.

He shrugged. "I always thought it would be more useful to say it through actions, although I've been doing a shit job at those lately too.  I'm trying, I promise. Not to be a selfish hypocritical asshole." 

"Well, then," She said, looking at him and she gave him a big smile, "Why don't we go  home and sleep until morning?" 

"It's technically already morning," He told her as he stuck his tongue out at her. 

"And you're technically a brat, bastard," She said with a bit of a laugh. God that was one of his favorite sounds.

"You want me to drive you home? Or are you okay?" He asked her in all seriousness as he carried out of the manager's office and out of the empty club.  

The sun was coming up on the horizon of Starling and she looked to him. "Could you? And in my car, please?" She asked.

"Of course," He said.

He looked to her and she unzipped her purse and shuffled around a bit  inside of it, till she found her keys and gave them to him.  He unlocked the door with the Fob and managed to get the door open without putting her down.  He placed her gently in the passenger's seat and closed the door and then got in on the other side. 

He drove into the sunrise and smiled to her.  Sure, she wasn't perfect.  She had a lot of flaws. She was critical of herself, way more than she should, but there was no one he would rather be with than her. 

He looked back to the road and headed to Laurel's apartment. She rubbed her eyes a lot.  But when they got there, she yawned. Yeah, she was still tired. He stopped the car in her apartment's garage and got out and took her hand.  

They took the elevator up and when they entered her apartment, she threw off her shoes again.  He did the same. "I'll just take the couch then," He said as she went to the bedroom. 

"Oh no," She said as she stopped and went back to him. "You are getting in that bed with me."

"Isn't that a bad idea?" He asked.

"Maybe." She told him. "But we don't have to have sex. And even if we did, it'd be living." 

"Okay." He acknowledged as he went with her to the bedroom.

She looked beautiful in the darkness, even as she stumbled a little bit. "Can you unzip me?" She asked him, breaking his reverie.

"Yeah," He gulped and his hands moved slowly, revealing the expanse of her smooth back, dusted with her very few freckles. He kissed her shoulders as he finished. 

She smiled and stepped out of the dress. He saw her in the mismatching underwear and bra and she was the most beautiful thing he had seen.  He kissed her lips and she gasped as he pushed her up on her dressing table. "Ollie?" She whispered to him.

"Yeah?" He asked, stopping for a minute, because he realized that she might want to stop. Her sister had just died. They just buried her. And she was tired. 

She smiled to him.  "I love you too." 


	12. One Love (Just Isn't Enough)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Laurel's kid gets sick and fussy when Laurel has an important work deadline and he won't stop crying. She calls Oliver to come over and help her so she can just get her work done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: One Love (Just Isn't Enough)  
> Words: 2382.   
> Pairing: Laurel/Oliver.   
> Genre: Romance/Comfort.  
> Status: Done.

Thomas Robert Lance-Queen wailed in the other room and Laurel pushed out of her desk and went to check on him. "Hey little guy," She said as she picked him up and bounced him on her hip.  He didn't stop crying and she bounced him to the kitchen.  "Let's just get you something to eat," She cooed at him.

A bottle didn't help. He didn't stop crying.  "Do you need a change?" She asked and he cried louder.  So no on the diaper change.  What else did the books say about babies crying? Maybe they needed a temperature change.  She put a blanket around him, but he still didn't stop crying.  "What's wrong with you, Tommy? Mommy needs to work." 

Tommy cried for hours and Laurel tried everything to calm him down and her nerves were fraying.  "Come on, Tommy.  Just tell Mommy what's going on," She asked as she pushed her bangs back from her face.  She took hi to the bathroom and found the baby thermometer. Maybe.  There was nothing except fussing that he was doing that would indicate he was sick, but that was the last thing the book suggested.  She put the thing in his ear and looked at it 98.  Oh no. He had a fever. "Oh baby, you're not feeling well.  But mommy needs to get this deposition done, come on, please, stop crying." She cried to him, just holding him and rocking him back and forth.  

After what was probably another hour of constant crying, she broke down and put Tommy on her hip and went and got her cell and called Oliver.  She hated calling Oliver for this, but she needed him to come over to deal with his child too. "Hello," Oliver answered, seemingly in good spirits. 

"Oh, thank god," Laurel said, relieved to hear something that wasn't Tommy's constant and unending crying.  "You picked up,"  She wiped her brow of the sweat on it.

"Laurel?" He asked, hearing the baby cry in the background. "Are you and Tommy okay?" He voiced his concern.

She laughed out of frustration, "No, Tommy has a fever and won't stop crying and I need to finish a deposition I need in the morning," She cried a little. "Look, I wouldn't ask this normally, but could you come over and just watch over him for an hour or so.  I just need to finish this deposition and I can't think while he's crying and..."  

Oliver just stopped her in the middle of her monologue.  "I'm leaving right now, okay? I'll be there in fifteen." He promised her, "You can always call me, Laurel." He said.

Laurel looked to Tommy and smiled out of relief and Tommy for a minute stopped crying. "You hear that? Daddy's coming." He let her have one minute of quiet and then it was back to fussing. 

She paced around the apartment waiting for Oliver, bouncing the baby, which seemed to make him the least fussy, but didn't stop it.  "Hush little baby, don't say a word, momma's gonna buy you a mockingbird and if that mockingbird don't cry, momma's gonna sing you a lullaby..." She crooned to him, but nope.  "Come on, you can do it. Daddy's coming.  Come on. Just be quiet for a minute." She asked.

Oliver looked amused as he walked in on the frazzled Laurel, "Has he been like that for long?" He asked.

"Just like four hours, Ollie," She said as she put Tommy in his father's arms and he seemed to quiet down instantly.  "You've got to be kidding me. You come along and he just stops?" She asked.

"Hey," Oliver put his hand on her shoulder.  "Just go write your deposition. I've got Tommy." He said, sitting down on the floor of Laurel's living room and playing with the baby who fussed a little bit but definitely not enough to reach the office.

She looked at the two of them on the floor, "Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yeah, Laur," He said, smiling up at her. "Don't worry about me. Go get your deposition done and I'll stay with Tommy," He told her.  

Laurel went to her office and went to her computer and thanked Oliver for the blessed quiet that she had to write the deposition.  She got to writing.  It was so much easier when Oliver was there to watch Tommy.

She dove into her work and smiled.  The client she had taken on was fighting for her daughter's stuff back from the ex husband.  The Daughter had always expressed interest that her mother get all of her memorabilia but she hadn't gotten around to writing a will. It was a hard case, but it was fulfilling work. 

She answered her emails from other clients and looked back to her work and realized that she had it almost done. In no time at all, blessedly. She saved the deposition and sent it to herself at the office and turned away from the computer.  She heard Oliver on the baby monitor and smiled.

Laurel went and stood in the doorway of Tommy's room as he saw Oliver putting him into his crib. "You're a good daddy," She smiled as she heard the pleasant sound of silence. 

Oliver blushed. "Oh, I wouldn't say that. You dealt with the crying for four hours before you cracked. I don't think I could have done that," He told her as he wrapped his arms around her and walked her out of the doorway and put her on the couch. "You deserve some wine," He said.

"No, Oliver, you really don't have to do that," She said, getting up on her feet and he smiled and just pushed her back onto the couch.

He shook his head.  "Let me do this for you, besides, I can make sure that you only have one," He said as he went to the kitchen and got a bottle of wine and two glasses.  

"God," She said as he gave her a glass of wine, "How did our parents ever manage it?" She asked him as she took a sip and looked over to him.  Tommy being in bed really did a number on her nerves to ease them so. 

He laughed. "Well, my parents had staff to help them who all had babies before us.  And your parents, well they were superheros. Or they just got incredibly lucky and you didn't start being feisty till you were a teenager, but probably not," He told her with a smile.

"I don't think I could have ever dealt with a baby like me," She laughed as she looked in his eyes. 

He shook his head and smiled.  "You're a crazy good mom, Laur. You're capable of taking on the world." He told her as he flicked her chin and watched her blush.

"I couldn't even take on Tommy crying because he was sick," She said seriously.

He laughed. She couldn't be serious.  But then she frowned at him. "Babe," Oliver got her attention, "He was crying for four hours and you had a lot of work.  That would have made anyone crazy," He told her.  "Don't even worry about it." 

"You think that because you have to. Because I'm your baby's mom," She took another drink and laid out on him.

"No," He said, seriously, "I think you're a great mom. One of the best," He told her honestly.  She was so hard on herself.  "Come here," He said seriously and opened his arms so she could sit with him.

She pushed herself into his arms and he closed around her and settled into a comfortable position.  She smiled gently at the whole thing. This was what she wanted when she first figured out she was pregnant.  This moment was perfect.  "Why couldn't it be like this when we were together?" She asked him.

He shrugged.  "Don't know, but doesn't make it less special," He said. Laurel having Tommy was the biggest light of his life. Tommy was perfect in every way. But he and Laurel fought and it was better to have their own space, so he moved out and they shared custody.

"Do you ever think about what it would be like if we were still together?" She asked him, looking at him with big doe eyes.

He nodded.  He didn't want to admit that he thought about it more than he liked to. Oliver thought about what it would be like to watch Laurel nurse his baby boy.  He thought about what fun it would be to see her play with him. He wondered how she changed him.  These were all the simple pleasures of his existence that he wished he could see. "Yeah," He nodded. "But you deserve someone better than me," 

"There is no one better than you," She told him as she turned around in his arms and looked him straight in the eyes. "Absolutely no one. You're the best dad there is. And the best man out there. My best friend, always have been and always will." She told him with upturned lips and sparkling eyes.

He leaned forward and tilted his face toward his and kissed her.  She gasped and her fingers went to his waist as she drew him closer and he put his arms around her neck. He smiled as he kissed her again and again and again.  

"Ollie?" She asked him.

He took his face away from hers a minute and saw her smiling like he knew she could and it was the most beautiful he'd seen her in a while.  "Yeah?" He asked in acknowledgement.

Her cheeks reddened. "Do you want to stay over?" She asked him. 

"Absolutely," He said to her. There was no way he was gonna let this get away from him and he picked her up bridal style and took her down the hall to her bedroom where they would no doubt have a laugh about the silly things in life.  She held onto his neck for dear life and he felt like the absolute hero of the story when it came to her. 

She looked up to him and sternly said, "Stop," And he did. He wasn't sure what he did wrong but he let her down and she went into her office and confused him. That wasn't normal behavior.  She came out and smiled back to him as she showed him the baby monitor.  Oh, yes. That was important. They should be able to get Tommy up when he needed it.

She didn't hop back up into his arms, but instead took his hand in hers and kissed his knuckles. God, how could she be so affectionate with him? He was bad for her. He was bad for the baby too. He was bad for the first Tommy. But it didn't mean he didn't want them in his life.  No, in fact, the opposite, he wanted them more than he could imagine.  The worse he was, the more he wanted them.

He opened the door to her bedroom and it had hardly changed since he moved out. His clothes probably still held in the drawers. She unbuttoned her blouse and threw it away. "God, you're beautiful, Laurel," He told her.

She shook her head. "Still have baby weight to lose." She said, caressing her stomach in front of the mirror.  

"Shhh," He hushed as he moved behind her. "You look stunning," He said, looking at her body and pressing kisses into it and really doing everything he could to make sure that she felt beautiful. "But we should sleep." 

She nodded.  "I'll let you pick what we put on," She said, tossing the remote to him as they got out of regular clothes and he stayed in his underwear and she changed into one of his old t-shirts.  She made it look sexier than he ever could. 

He crawled into the bed and turned on the TV.  She put the baby monitor on her side table and then got into the bed and put her head on his chest and for a minute he could believe it was just like the old times when Tommy wasn't their first priority. He picked out A League of Their Own just before the first big match.

"Thank you," She whispered to him after awhile, "For coming over," 

He shrugged. "In truth, I want to come over and see you everytime you have him. I want us to be a family," He told her, looking her in the eyes. 

"So why don't we try the family thing?" She asked him and there was a little bit of hope in it.  Did she really want that too? Did she want him around? He thought they always fought and they couldn't possibly fit quite right.

She looked intent on the idea and his heart swelled, "Really, Laur?" He asked.

She nodded to him, "Really, Ollie. Truth is, even on the best day, it wasn't nearly as good without you," 

He kissed her again.  He couldn't believe it.  They were gonna be a family again.  They were gonna be Oliver and Laurel and Tommy again. They could get those corny family photos together.  "We'll go get my stuff from the Queen Mansion tomorrow, just the three of us. And then maybe we'll get Mrs. Queen a coffee from starbucks," He said, giddy and kissing her.

She was never Mrs. Queen and would never be a Queen. She loved being a Lance but when he called her that, it wasn't too bad. Her cheeks flushed and she had the biggest stupidest grin on her face.

And then Tommy cried through the baby monitor and they both got up and went into his room.  She picked him up and he reeked.  "Mommy and Daddy are here," She gently whispered. 

Oliver stood back and watched her undo his onesie and change him like a pro and then put him back and put his bottle in his mouth and how Tommy utterly adored his mother. 

"Yeah," He said as they got out, "Don't ever try to convince me you're a bad mom, because that, that just proved how utterly untrue that was." 

Her nose wrinkled and she laughed, "only because I have the greatest help there is." 


	13. Tabula Rasa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel loses all of her memories of herself as Laurel and only has the Black Canary, so Oliver must make the hard choice of dealing with a love that isn't quite true with the two side of Laurel without her memories or risk losing her by giving her her life back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Tabula Rasa  
> Words: 2889  
> Genre: Comfort  
> Pairing: Laurel/Oliver, Canary/Arrow  
> Status: Done

"How is she?" Oliver asked the nurse and he could see Quentin was there worrying about the exact same thing.  

The nurse looked at both of them and gave them the fakest of cheery smiles, "The good news is that she could retain all of her memories and be back to normal in as little as a few weeks," She said.

"What does that mean for now?" He asked, seriously. Laurel was part of the team and he couldn't have her just being a vegetable right now. Not when there was more villainy than ever.

She sighed as she looked at Laurel, a poor little soul she thought, no doubt, "It means that until we have more information, it looks like she's forgotten everyone and we don't know when she'll have it all back," She said to them as she left.

Oliver kissed Laurel's head and she freaked out, sort of scurrying to try to find somewhere else or something else to amuse herself, but she definitely didn't want him around. Quentin pleaded with his eyes and Oliver knew to leave.  He couldn't think of why she would do this, but he had to figure that it was to do with the loss.

"How's Laurel?" Felicity asked as she heard him come through the lair.

It was his turn to sigh.  Oh boy, how was Laurel? that was a loaded question. "She's not good. It looks like they have her in the hospital for awhile. Don't expect her back at all." He said to Felicity. "She'll be fine though, I know she will. We just have to give her time to figure it all out." 

They took her back to her apartment and laid her in bed where she smiled to them, "I'm tired," She said. They nodded and got out of the room. Still, someone needed to be with her. Quentin needed sleep for tomorrow, so Oliver took the first shift of watching over her.  

Everything was quiet for awhile and Oliver went to go check on her, see how she was doing.  He opened the door to find her out of bed, gone, and the window open.

"Felicity," He said into his phone, "Find Laurel. She snuck out," 

This was funny to Felicity, "Snuck out? Like a teenager? That doesn't like Laurel?" He could hear the typing regardless and then he heard her gasp.  "You're not gonna believe this.  She's in the middle of beating up a local gang. They were after a woman and she's stopping them. Laurel might not remember her life before, but she definitely knows she's Black Canary," Felicity told him.

Shit. He went to the foundry and got his costume and bow and tracked Laurel down.  She was not going to like him when he did this, but quite frankly she needed someone to look after her. 

He came in as she was about to be shot and pushed her out of the way. "I can handle myself, I don't need your help Arrow," She said in a huff. 

"Yeah, well, you're getting it, so you might as well not even bother trying to slip past," He told her.  He couldn't deal with another slip up.  

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever," She said as she charged back into the battle, taking people out with her strength, getting on people's necks and strangling them till they were unconscious. He shot people with non lethal arrows and took some of them down, but this was her fight and it was one she picked, so he tried not to get too much in the way.

She took the hand of the woman after everything was finished and he followed them as she walked the woman to safety and hugged her after she was done. "You did good tonight," He told her, even though he didn't want her out in the field when she was damaged like this.

"She needed help. I'm here to help." Laurel chirped as the Black Canary.

He shook his head. "Do you even have any idea who you are?" He asked her. Because he wanted to know from her what was going on.

"I'm Black Canary. I fight crime with a team.  I fight crime with you," She told him with a smile. Oh god, that smile. He was addicted to that smile. That was the smile that Laurel gave him to show him he was doing good and right in the world.  He loved that smile so much. And he was wary of having to make it go away.  He loved Laurel as the Black Canary. The Black Canary didn't know what he had done to her in the past. But it also wasn't right.

"You lost your memories you know that right?" He asked her.

She shook her head and laughed. "Don't be ridiculous. I have all the memories I need." 

"No, you don't," He said to her.  "You don't even know what you're fighting for. Why it's important.  All you know is that you're the black canary."

"And what's so bad about that?" She asked him, defensively.

He sighed. "Because you don't know your family or me. Or the people who love you. Or the job you do outside of this, helping people." 

"I don't care about any of that stuff," She cried to him, "Now leave me alone," 

He got behind her and knocked her out and took her back to her apartment and made sure to stay with her this time. She didn't wake up and she didn't try to go out the window again.

He let Quentin take over the next night.  And saw her out again.  He didn't even bother calling until later.  What was the point? To worry him. Nope. Besides, Laurel needed the exercise and she was good at making sure people didn't murder or maim again.

Oliver took her back to her apartment and put her back in bed.

This went on for about a month with no signs of her memories coming back and in that time, he got to know Laurel as she was without her memories who was surprisingly unjaded by all of the past. She was so happy to see him most days, even if it was an act, at least it was an act that seemed real. 

But he couldn't let her live like this. Sure, she might not know all the pain she'd been through, but she didn't know how capable of job she was and that was a damn shame.

She looked at him with those big eyes and smiled, "Are you seeing someone?" She asked candidly and to be honest he didn't know how to answer that question.

"I was, but she got hurt and she doesn't really know who I am anymore." He told her with a blush.

She touched his cheek and smiled, "Well, I'm sure someone like you would fight for her," She told him and then went back to playing with the handheld video game that Sara gave her.

"I'm gonna step out into the living room for a minute," He told her, "Don't go anywhere," She nodded and he left the room and quickly dialed on his phone. "Sara, I need you to make a video for me. No, we need to jog her memory. And don't leave anything out," He told her.

"Okay, but why?" Sara asked. "I mean wouldn't it be easier if she didn't know all the pain she went through.  All the pain that we put her through?" She asked.

He sighed. It would be easier. But it wouldn't be true. "This isn't about easy. This is about fighting for her, Sara. And that's what we need to do. It's what she would do for any of us." 

Sara seemed reluctant still. "I don't know. I just got a sister back who doesn't see all of the pain of the past and you want me to inject that into her? I mean I think that's a little bit risky." 

"It's not about you, Sara. This is about her." Oliver said in a stern voice. "Now you can do it and make the pain as minimal as possible or I can ask Felicity to do it,"

"You know what?' Sara said into the phone with that voice that said she already made up her mind. "Ask Felicity to do it. I'm not pouring pain into her." 

And then she hung up.

Felicity was much more understanding, though she two also had a few protests about pouring what was essential emotional hot wax onto Laurel.  "She said something to you right?" Felicity asked.

"Yes, she did. And I need to fight for her like I should. I've been trying to fight the Black Canary, but I need to break into Laurel's head, not Canary's." He told her as he put his hand in his pocket and went to go check on Laurel who was still happily playing her game. "She deserves people who will fight for her,"

"Got it boss." Felicity said. "I'm gonna have you check this tonight after you and Canary doing some vigilante stuff," 

"Right," He said. And clicked off the phone.  He went over to Laurel and sat in the bed with her and she seemed happy about this arrangement.  "So what are you playing?" He asked.

"Mario," She told him, determined not to let a Boo touch her character, Daisy.  "So did you fix things with the girl?" She asked.

"No," He chuckled, "But I've started to. And that's the important thing.  I'm dong what she would do." 

She looked at him and for a second it was like she could see something and remembered what it was, but then she went blank again and he got out of the bed. God, she was going to hate him for doing this to her, but she needed help.  She needed her memories back.  Her love was divine when she thought he was the best person in the world her making sure she was safe, but loving her, he had to set the record straight.

Quentin had a shift tonight so it was all about him and Laurel. He cooked dinner for them and they ate and then he let her use the phony, I'm tired excuse to get out of talking to him and go to her bedroom.  She used the window to make her escape and he used the front door. 

"What took you so long?" She asked and it was like a totally different person than the sweet girl who was playing the video game in her bed.  "Babysitting the vegetable?" She joked.

He rolled his eyes. "You know, that's not a nice term, but yes, I did have someone I had to take care of," He told her.  He should tell that he was taking care of her, but she wouldn't have believed him anyway. They'd had that fight before and it wasn't pretty. 

"Right," She said in a bored voice, "Well, we have a serial killer whose M.O. is to look like a vampire. He also take their heart." She told him.

"So how do you suggest we get him?" He asked. 

She laughed a little, "Well, that's the thing. We already know who his next victim is, so all we have to do is get there before he chomps and then we're good," She told him.

They took the motorcycle and she told him when to stop.  They heard a loud crash inside and they knew they hadn't made it before the killer. Well, that was always the worst. "Come on," He said to her.

They made it up and the victim had fought back. A pretty woman that sort of looked like Laurel in the right light.  Someone who was victimized by people she didn't know. Oh the sense of deja vu was strong, but he let Laurel do her thing as Canary because that was what she knew. That was the only thing she knew for sure right now. 

And then the bastard got her on the floor and started choking her and he had to leave the girl alone for a minute. "Hey!" He shouted and the guy looked up to him and sneered. 

Oliver barreled his entire body weight at the guy and got him off Laurel who went to the victim and he put an arrow in the guy's chest, right through the heart. "She'll never understand you," That was the last thing he said and Oliver looked away.

"Hey," Laurel said as he looked up and realized what he'd done. He'd just killed again. "You okay?" She asked.

"He was about to kill you," Oliver said.

"But he didn't." Laurel whispered to him in that sweet voice and she looked at him with the sweetest eyes. "He didn't because you saved me. I know how much that means to you. The killing." 

"With you, there was never even a choice. He was going to hurt you. I needed to stop him," He told her as he held her cheek. This was probably the last time she'd be this loving, but who knew? "Come on, let's go back to the cave." He told her and she nodded.

The foundry greeted them with warm lights and he looked over to Felicity, "I'm guessing creepy vamp guy, down for the count?" She asked.

"Down for the count," Oliver nodded. "How'd the thing come along?" He asked.

"Great," Felicity told him as she popped out the DVD from her computer and gave it to him. "That's it. Take her home and let her watch it. I didn't leave anything out. She'll know everything. Including how many times you broke her heart." She said, a little sad.

He looked down at the thing and for a minute he thought about crushing it in his hands, but as much as he wanted to, he couldn't. "She deserves to know. She deserves the life she had before. The one she built. She was proud of it." 

He took her back home and settled her into bed, thankfully the knocking out hadn't been that long this time. "Hey," She said, waking up. "I thought you would have been gone by now. Trying to save the day for that girl you like." She said, sleepy.

He smiled at her, she didn't know anything in this form, "Well, actually, that's what I'm trying to do. I have something for you." He told her.

"Oh yeah?" She asked.

He nodded. "It's a movie. About your old life." He said.

"Well, pop it in," She told him and he did just that.

It was pretty gruesome. Didn't leave any details out. Felicity was thorough and this showed just how thorough.  It told her about the drinking problem and how he'd been gone for five years, but how he'd gotten on that boat with Sara.  And what he tried to do was look at her face which was almost always in complete shock. 

When it ended, he was looking down at his feet and he looked back to her and she looked ready to cry.  "Do you have any questions?" He asked her.

"A lot of them," Laurel said, blinking away the tears. "My main one is why did you do this?" 

He shrugged. "Because I love you." 

"You put me through that, because you love me?" She asked him, not believing it for a minute.

He sighed. He had to tell her the gritty details. "Look, I know that doesn't seem like love. I've been not the man you deserve, but I couldn't let you not know. Love means putting someone else before yourself and I knew you needed to know exactly who you were. And so I had a friend of mine make this for you and not leave anything out because that's a part of who you are. Even if it means I don't have a chance anymore," He told her, looking at her with the brightest eyes he could muster.

And then she got that trademark Laurel smirk on her face, "Well, it looks like the Queen really does have a heart. Save me twice today." She said.

He looked up at her and smiled a little, "Laurel?" He asked. 

"Yeah," She said. "It's me. I'm back." She cried and he hugged her.  He didn't know though.

"Tell me something only Laurel would know," He told her with the stupid grin on his face.

She rolled her eyes, but smiled to him, "When we went to Cabo for our Senior trip, you, tommy, and I got way too drunk on Tequila and had a threesome." She told him.

It was his Laurel. She was back.  "God, I missed you." He said, letting a tear fall onto her shirt.

"Thank you," She whispered to him, "For loving me enough to risk it all." 

He rested his forehead on hers and beamed like an idiot. "I'd risk it all again in a heartbeat. Whenever you need it." 

She kissed him on the cheek and smiled. "I got a pretty good hero."

"You did," He said as he got out of her bed and smiled. "Get some rest,"

She looked at him as he was about to to turn of the lights. "Ollie?" She asked and he turned around. "I love you too."


	14. Whisper Words of Wisdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helena forgets dinner with Slade. Again. And to make it up, she goes to Oliver to learn to cook and hijinks ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Whisper Words of Wisdom  
> Words: 2327  
> Pairings: Laurel/Oliver, Helena/Slade, Helena/Laurel brotp, Slade/Oliver brotp  
> Genre: Angst/Romance  
> Status: Done

 

"Helena!" Slade shouted from the bottom of the stairs.  He sat at dinner for an hour and she hadn't shown.  "Helena! What the hell is going on?" He asked.

Helena rushed out of the bedroom and saw Slade, "Shit," She cursed, blushed, and ran down the stairs. "I forgot about dinner." 

"This is the fourth time, Helena. If you didn't want dinner, that's fine," He gruffed as he moved past her without so much as a look to her. "Just don't tell me that you're coming when you won't." He finished as he went to the kitchen and made himself some dinner.

Helena went to him. "I promise I'm gonna make it up to you," She mewed.

"I'm not interested in making up, Helena. You have shown your true colors. Just leave." He said as he looked down at the counter.

"Slade, I-" She started.

He shook his head and stood his ground, "Just leave," He shouted.

"Hrmph," She pouted. It was clear Slade was pissed and really he had a right to be, but throwing her out? That was low. Especially for Slade. That was a cowardly move. 

She'd just have to show him she wasn't nearly as cowardly as he was. And that meant making dinner for him, since she'd skipped out, unwittingly, on the last four dinners they were supposed to have together.  

There was only one problem in this plan.

She didn't know how to cook. And she didn't really know anyone who knew how to cook. Except Oliver Queen.

She drove Slade's expensive Lamborghini to the Queen Mansion and smiled as she saw that Oliver's car was there.  She rang the bell and was greeted by the goodnatured Raisa.  "Hi," She greeted. "I'm here to see Oliver." 

Raisa stepped aside and showed her.  "One minute. I get him for you," 

"Spasibo," Helena replied and Raisa gave her that smile, like man, I remember why I liked you, and scurried off to get Oliver. She smiled when she saw Oliver come down. "Hey, stranger." She said in voice that was not what you would give a stranger.

"Helena," He beamed as he took her into a hug. "How's life?" He asked.

She nodded. "Good, except, I had a fight with Slade." 

"What'd he do this time? I swear to god, if he's not treating you right, Laurel will have my ass if I don't kick him where it hurts," He said, ready to get a coat and go show Slade some pain.

She chuckled. "Actually this time, it's my fault," She told him, resting her hands on his, making sure he put the coat down. "I missed dinner." She said. He looked at her and she gasped. "Four times," She screwed up her face and he reluctantly smiled a little.

"How do you forget dinner, four times?" He asked, amused.

She shrugged her shoulders. "My investors called. And then I had to fight crime with Laurel. And then I was shopping. And today, I just forgot we had plans. Till he came home." 

"So what do you need my help with?" He asked.

She twiddled her fingers and looked up at him, still waiting. "I need you to teach me how to cook. Something. Because I don't cook." She told him.

He laughed. "It's alright, neither does Laurel." He wished that was a funnier joke, but Laurel was terrible in the kitchen. She was brilliant at a multitude of things, but she had a housekeeper for her apartment and ate out for a reason.

He took her to the kitchen and got out a big cookbook full of recipes and looked to her, "What does the lady want to cook for Slade?" He asked her.

She pushed him over gently and flicked through the pages, entranced by the idea of cooking all of the food.  She didn't want something that would be too hard to do on her own though and she wanted something Slade would love. Which meant things that they couldn't get on the island. 

She flipped to a seared steak and pointed to it. "That one. Definitely that one. With other things of course, but that." She said, excited and he could tell that this was definitely the girl that he dated, all excited by the prospect of something new.

He took out some pans and looked through the meat they had on hand, thankfully they had a couple of steaks.  He got a couple out and put one in front of her. 

She looked weirded out by the steak, but he just chuckled. "The first thing we're gonna do is wait for the steaks to come up to room temperature. While we do that, we're gonna make sure the pan is up to 500 degrees okay?" He asked

"Okay, how do we do that?" She asked.

He simply laughed. Helena and Laurel really took clueless in the kitchen seriously.  He put it in the oven. "Now you." He said.

She put it in tenderly and he nodded. She squealed. 

Cooking went like this for awhile.  They learned to sear steak and make vegetables and they were on potatoes and laughing and enjoying themselves so much, with a bottle of wine shared between them that they didn't hear the door open.  

Laurel saw Helena in the Queen Mansion kitchen, with Oliver behind her, measuring things carefully and he had her hand in hers, trust me to help you kind of thing.  Helena giggled and her eyes narrowed. They were having such a good time and the only time he ever had that much fun with Helena was when they were dating. "What the hell, Ollie? You could have waited until I wasn't coming home?" Laurel said.

"This isn't what it looks like," Oliver said, quickly and he was sure she hated that.  It was never what it looked like, but the fact of the matter was that it did look pretty suspicious.

Helena looked sad in the background. "You told me you changed." Laurel said, turning to leave and he held her wrist.

"Please," Oliver pleaded as he touched her beautiful face. "I was just helping Helena learn how to cook. She and Slade got into an argument and she came over sad and needing my help and I knew you would hate it if I turned my back on her.  Please Laurel, please believe me." 

She looked at his hand on her wrist and looked to Helena. "What say you?" She asked Helena.

Helena nodded to her. "I forgot Slade and I had dinner plans. And he was upset.  And I wanted to show him that he's important. He knows I don't cook. So I thought it might be the charm he needed. I don't know anyone who cooks." 

"Is Slade coming over here?" She asked as she looked to the food and then looked back to Oliver. 

Oliver looked to Helena and shrugged. That actually wouldn't be a terrible idea. Slade seeing how much Helena had actually done might actually win him over.  "You know that's not a half bad idea," He said to her. "You okay?" 

She shook her head. "No, I just accused you and my best friend of betraying me. I have some things I need to work out." She said, pushing her hair back.

"Shush," He soothed and enveloped her in his arms. "You've earned the right to be suspicious of me.  It wouldn't have been the first time I did something incredibly stupid under your nose," He would always feel guilty for the way he treated her in the past, but he was turning over a new leaf.

Helena faux gagged. "Come on, guys, really.  We have food. And you're about to have guests." 

"Why do we like her?" Laurel asked Oliver with a smile and gave him a kiss. 

He shook his head and laughed. "I don't know. You're the one who insists that we keep her." He said as he took her to the next room so that he could call Slade while she sat in a chair with her legs over the arm like the adorable dork she was. "Yeah, man. Wanted to invite you to dinner. Since Helena missed yours. No, Laurel told me. Come on, I've got food and you have to still be hungry. Perfect. We'll see you in an hour." 

"So he's coming in an hour? What are we gonna do with the food you just made to practice with her?" Laurel asked.

Oliver thought about it and then he remembered that Walter and Moira were probably still in the house. "Let's feed the others first," He told her as he kissed her nose.

"You're a good boy, not wasting food." She said and she wiggled her nose.  It was one of the things she'd always tried to break him of. Because she wasn't from his rich family and having a meat refrigerator and so giving into her request that he not just throw food out was reasonable. 

Helena and Oliver cooked while Laurel drank a glass of wine and they all laughed and joked in the kitchen. It was funny to be so domestic when if you had told him five years ago that'd he'd have two women in the kitchen and he'd be teaching one how to cook, he'd have told you that you were crazy.

"Door for you, Mr. Queen. It's a Mr. Wilson." Raisa came in and smiled at him.

He held her shoulders and kissed her cheek, "Thank you, Raisa, thank you so much," He said as he moved to go get Slade.  

Laurel smiled to Helena, "Come on, Ollie's gonna get him in the dining room, we can go the other way." She whispered and Helena held the biggest smile on her face as they went the other way.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Helena asked her.

Laurel put her finger over her lips and implored her to hush.  "Come on," She said as she listened at the door.

"So where is the dear Miss Lance? I thought she told you about the incident with Helena?" Slade asked and Laurel giggled on the other side and Helena shushed her now.

Oliver nodded to him, "Laurel did tell me about the trouble you've been having with Helena. She'll be with us in a minute, she's just putting everything on plates." 

"She didn't cook the food, did she?" Slade asked, apprehensive to have Laurel's cooking in his mouth.  Her suck was renowned.

He laughed a little nervously, "No, we actually had a guest cook. I think you're gonna like it. Why don't you go wash up and food will be here in just a minute." 

Slade side eyed Oliver. Something wasn't right. Something was off. "Something's going on Queen. And I will find out," He told Oliver.

Oliver promised that he wasn't the case. "I'd tell you if something was going on, Slade. You're one of my friends. I'd never keep anything from you." 

"I know the way you treat your friends, Queen. I'm not impressed," He said as he turned his back to go to the restroom. Oliver let the girls in and smiled as they put the food on the table.  "Now, Helena, go that way," Oliver told her.

"Why?" She asked.

Laurel smiled. "The big reveal, come in the regular door in just a minute.  He'll be out in about 30 seconds." She said, shoving Helena through the door to the kitchen.

Slade smiled as he came in and saw Laurel and Oliver standing there like giddy idiots and he looked at the table. "I'm impressed, Queen. It looks fantastic," He said as he sat a the table and saw an extra setting. "Expecting another guest?" He asked.

"Actually," Laurel told him, "Yes. We invited the chef to come enjoy the meal with us," She winked to Oliver.

Slade put down his silverware and looked at the both of them. "And who is this mystery chef?" He asked.

"Me," Helena said as she leaned in the doorway, boobs out, and smiling to him with the biggest grin.  She looked like the picture of happiness and perfection.

The look on Slade's face was priceless. "Darling?" He said as he moved away from the table and over to his girlfriend. "You made this?" He asked.

She grinned like the cat who ate the canary. "Yep, I did. Because I love you. I'm sorry I didn't make to dinner all of those times." 

"You cooked for me?" He asked, starting to smile.

She shrugged. "Technically, I cooked for all of us.  You know the two matchmakers too." She said, nodding to the Oliver and Laurel, the latter of who was sat on the former's lap. 

"Ya know, it's only because we love you," Laurel told them as she looked away from Oliver, but never took her arms away from his neck.

Oliver smiled to his girl as he rubbed his head against her neck.  "Yeah, we need to keep you two together. We need couple friends." He smiled to them.

"I don't know how I feel about that, but let's eat. This is a bountiful feast that Helena has so graciously prepared for us and I want to savor it." Slade said as he smiled to Helena.  "You have made me proud, darling." He told her with the sincerest of tones.

"Am I forgiven?" She asked him.

He kissed her and smiled to her, genuine and free. "You most certainly are," 

A dinner party, Slade hadn't thought it would be so satisfying, but it was one of the first times he was surprised in a while and he got to sit there and laugh with his girl and his best friend and his girl. 

"Happy ending all around," Laurel said, giddy that her friend was happy and that they had their friends back together.  "So now we eat," She said as she dug in and everyone else followed suit.


	15. Cursing Your Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver goes over to Laurel's because he's bought a present and doesn't know where to buy wrapping paper and a fight ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Cursing Your Name  
> Words: 2001  
> Genre: Angst/Romance  
> Pairing: Laurel/Oliver  
> Status: Done.

He came to her because she would probably know. Laurel knew all of the things. Laurel was a genius. Besides, she used it more often than anyone he knew. It only followed logic that she would be the one he should go to with advice about where to buy it. He knocked on the door.

She smiled on the other side as she looked through the peephole.

"Do you know where I can buy wrapping paper?" He asked her as she opened the door.

She blinked at him. "You came over to my house. Not only that. You called me. Told me you had something important to ask me. And your question is where can I buy wrapping paper?" She asked him, arms crossed.

He nodded happily.

"Come on in," She told him as she went down the hall and opened a closet door and got out a big container of wrapping paper. It actually rivaled the Queen stock of wrapping paper. She gave presents, he knew this. He didn't know that she gave so many that she had a permanent stock of wrapping paper on hand.

He looked to her and looked to the box. It looked like it had gathered a fine layer of dust. Maybe she didn't use it as much as he thought. "When was the last time you gave a present, Laur?" He asked her as she set the box on the coffee table in the living room.

"A while," She said in that voice that told him that if he wanted to keep his life, he shouldn't go further with that line of questioning. He knew that it had been a rough couple of months for her. Hell, it'd been a rough year for the both of them. She got back on her feet though. "So what are we working with?" She asked.

He pushed the bag down and he smiled. He thought he did well with this one.

Laurel looked to him with eyebrows bunching together. "Who exactly is this for?" She asked him, going through all the people he could give these two gifts to and quite frankly all of the possibilities were terrible.

"Thea!" He said, proudly. He did good work. She would love this present that he got her.

Laurel looked to him with a horrified look and then looked back to the two things that were sitting on her coffee table with her big box of wrapping paper. "Please tell me you're joking," She said to him as she looked back to the thing and shook her head.

"No, I'm not, Thea's gonna love these gifts," He said, his pride a little wounded.

"These are terrible gifts, Oliver." She said, flatly. She wanted to do that without hurting his feelings, but she didn't see anyway to do that. So she went for the blunt option.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Why are these terrible gifts?" He asked.

She looked to him, a little shocked that he didn't know, "Come on, Ollie. You really need it spelled out to you?" She asked him, trying to get him to work it out first. She didn't want to spell it out to him, but if he was going to be a dunce, she was going to.

"Yes, apparently I do, since you're the all knowing expert," He said getting a little bit more defensive as she said every biting word.

She turned her back to him and he grabbed her and turned her around. "Tell me what I'm doing so wrong," He said.

The look of horror in her eyes softened him and he felt bad. She needed to tell him or he would never get better at this stuff. "First of all, a blender? Really? Did you even try there? You never get a woman a freaking blender, unless she asks for one. It reeks of misogyny. That's right out of Father of the Bride, which I know you've seen. Not to mention, I don't know why Thea would need her own blender, since she's not moving out anytime soon."

He rubbed his cheek and he looked at it and looked at through that lens. Yeah, it might have been a bad gift, but the other part, that was perfect. "Do you have a problem with the ducks?" He asked, closing an eye, not really ready for her answer.

"Do I have problem with the ducks?" She exasperated. "Of course I have a problem with the ducks, Ollie."

"What's wrong with them? They're cute," He said, rubbing his neck.

She shook her head. "Oh my god, Oliver Jonas Queen, do you pay attention to anyone who isn't you?" She asked him as she crossed her arms.

"I don't get it," He said, confused. "Why are the ducks a bad idea?"

She chuckled in that way that made him think that if she were to ever go evil, he should worry, because she could be deadly. "Of course you don't get why it's a bad idea, because you are so blind to the fact that she has never discussed the damn ducks with you since you came back. But you're cute and adorable and think everything is okay, because she doesn't." She sighed.

"She'll be fine." Oliver said to Laurel.

She shook her head in tiny iterations. "No, she won't." She told him.

"Why not?" He asked her, getting tired of all the games.

She invaded his space and the anger on her face showed through like lace on a bra. She was not kidding around this time. "Because ducks were your thing. They were the thing you did with her. And when you died, she stopped liking ducks. But you don't know that because you are literally too wrapped up in your own damn head to realize that anything is going on with anyone else." She shouted at him.

He looked hurt by this statement, but he also oddly admired the passion in her voice, because it meant that she cared. She always cared. Five years gone, and Laurel looked after Thea.

He pushed her to the wall and kissed her quickly though, because he knew that if either of them had the chance to think about it, they wouldn't and they would get angry and pissed off and that wasn't what he wanted. Because the truth was, he loved that she cared for Thea so much after he died. She obligated herself to checking in on his family, even when they couldn't offer her anything.

"What's going on?" Laurel asked as she brought her legs up around his waist and kissed him back.

He shook his head. She shouldn't do that. "Don't question it," He said as he kissed her more passionately. More teeth, more love. Five years gone on an island and a year of dicking around and he still couldn't get enough of her.

She clutched at his hair and bumped her nose to his, rested her forehead on his, did anything to get closer.  Which would have been great if she didn't clutch so hard.

He hadn't noticed before but his hair being pulled really did something for him and he wasn't going to be able to take much more of it without taking her to the back of the apartment, or even to the damn couch. "You need to stop doing that, coeur." He told her seriously as traveled to her neck and kissed the strong muscles on the column.

"Why?" She gasped, out of breathe and smiling, "Does it turn you on?" She asked him.

To that, he ground into her, the evidence showed how much her words rang true for him.   She moaned in time with the motion. God, there had been many nights on the island when that moan haunted his dreams. When he thought about being in bed with her and kissing her just like this and that moan. 

Slade told him that such was a distraction and that he should be ready for anything and having sex dreams was clearly not ready for anything, but he couldn't help it. Laurel was his everything. He wasn't about to give up the one place he could readily see her on the island because Slade told him to do so. Slade told him a lot of things. Didn't mean he listened to half of it.

She took him by the hair and took him away from her neck. "I still want to know why you kissed me in the first place." She told him.

He pressed her forehead to his and smiled, "Because of all the girls I've been with, you are the only one who cares for Thea.  You are the only who cares about the other important girl in my life, coeur. And I need you," He told her honestly and put her hand on his heart.

She felt the beats underneath her palm with amusement and aww on her face. He loved seeing that, the sheer curiosity that she so naturally had. "You need me?" She said as she looked at him in the eyes, taking hers from her palm on his heart. "Ollie, I don't know about need." 

He shook his head and cradled the back of her head in his hand. "I don't mean it in that clingy way that some guys need you. But you were asked nothing and you still protected my family. You're good for me," He whispered to her in a kiss. "I promise, if you give me one more chance, even though, I am the last person who deserves it, I will be my best self for you." 

"You really don't deserve it," She told him, acknowledging that he had been horrible for her in the past. He cheated on her with her sister. He got stuck on an island for five years. When she started to get over him, he came back and disrupted her whole life. He went back to being with her sister.  But she looked in his eyes and she saw the potential.  She saw that he wanted to be better. Besides, she never ignored the fact that they had some amazing times. There were boxes stored in the closet with pictures of just how happy Oliver made her. "But hell, it's always been me and you. Let's give it another go," She told him as she put her pinky out and he smiled, and pinky swore to her.

"You know I'm the arrow?" He asked her.

She laughed and nodded. "Why do you think I went to the Arrow with the thing about Blood? I mean, you really think I'm that stupid? I know you and your assistant do some magic work." She told him.

"Felicity," He chuckled. "She is a wizard on her computer." 

She nodded to him, "You know, if you want to give gifts to people, they're to go through her or me for approval, right? Because I never want to see something like this again," She said.

He saluted to her, "I promise, there never be a snafu this big." He dutifully swore to her.  The whole thing was embarrassing, he acknowledged because it meant that he knew very little about Thea and that he was going to have to work on their relationship. 

He had someone though who could at least help navigate some of that with relative ease and brush him up on the things that Thea confided to her. Laurel unwrapped from his waist and gently rested her feet on his toes and looked up to him.  "By the way, we should really get her a new present, because yeah, this won't do. I hope you still have the receipt for all of this," She said, gesturing to the unpresentable gifts that he brought.

He moved to grab the bag from the floor and she moved off his feet and he dug into the bag and showed her the receipt. "You want to come with me?" He asked.

"Of course, always do." 


	16. Reach for Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Laurel reaches Verdant, she tells Oliver that he is important to her. She proceeds to show him by helping get his mind off the drama for one night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Reach for Something  
> Words: 2398  
> Pairing: Laurel/Oliver, Laurel/Thea brotp  
> Genre: Comfort/Friendship  
> Status: tentatively done.

Laurel walked through the doors of Verdant with new eyes. This place, she didn't think it could be more different than it was a year ago, but here it was so shiny and new in her eyes. This is where family lived. This is where they played. This is where they showed their true colors. This is where Tommy learned to be a man. This is where Thea grew into an amazing vision of a woman. This is where Oliver was. This is where Sara worked. It was all of those things that would keep her coming back. Why she kept coming back. 

Oliver sat on the stairs looking at a worn picture of his family, the four of them happy.  They lived such a blissful and privileged life five years ago and then everything changed. Everything happened. His father knew, though. He never told any of them because it didn't matter. Thea was his daughter. Thea was part of his family. Why didn't she see that?

She saw his sad smile and smiled a little sadly back, "Oliver," She said.

He looked up suddenly and straight at her and the look on his face read all pain.  He didn't know what to do anymore about everything.

She didn't really know what to do either. That look of pain had always been her sore spot. She always wanted to help him when it was on his face. 

He put the photograph in his shirt pocket and looked away from her, afraid of the pain. He wanted to shut it out. He wanted to be strong. He couldn't do it though. She knew. She knew what he did for the city. And she couldn't let him run away from her like he was trying to.

He stood up from the step he sat on and she went to him and hugged him. She pressed her face into his strong chest and let him know that if there was one thing that he could do, it was protect her with his love. She wrapped her arms around him protectively, a reciprocal shield of defense, that sure as he protected her, she would use her love to keep him safe.

He put his hand on her shoulders and she relaxed a little, not much, because he needed the strength, but enough to tell him she wasn't mad. She wasn't the boa constrictor, here to squeeze him to death. "What's this for?" He asked softly.

"Because you're important to me," She whispered to him.  He needed to know that she forgave him. Forgave him for lying. Forgave him for kidnapping her. Forgave him for keeping secrets. Even forgave him for the bullshit games he played with her. 

He didn't know how she could forgive him for what he did to her. He failed her on every account. He went after people who failed the city, but the truth was that he failed her, his symbol of the city, more times than he could count. He released her and tucked a strand of hair behind her hair. "Where do we go from here?" He asked.

She grinned at him. She held out her hand for him to take it. "We get dinner," She told him as they walked out of the club. 

He drove her car to Big Belly and he ordered them some food. "Sorry," He said and blushed. "I know you hate it when I do that, but this is gonna be good, I promise," He told her.

She put her hand out and smiled.  "Look, Ollie, it's fine," She told him. "How are you?"

He nodded. She made it easy.  "I'm shaky. Thea won't talk to me because of this thing." 

"The parentage?" She asked.

He laughed a little, "How am I not surprised you know?" He asked her.

She chuckled at him, because he took it all in stride. "Because you know that Bear and I talk. And that since she's been told that you and her boyfriend or ex-boyfriend have sort of not been the people she's wanted to talk to about anything."

He put his wrist on his forehead and laughed at the table. Man, she never pulled any punches. "Yeah, that, is she doing okay?" He asked.

"She's sleeping on my couch," Laurel shrugged. "She's doing as good as she can," She took some fries and looked at him.

He looked at her with those big eyes. She shouldn't have told him where Thea was, but his concern touched her and she knew that giving it up would be more fruitful.  "You're the one she went to?" He asked with a little bit of a smile.

"I don't think she'll fully give up on you." She promised him as she took his hands in hers and told him that he could trust her with everything. Maybe he didn't know that she knew about him. About the Arrow. But her trust in him never wavered. And then she broke out into a grin. "Either that, or she knows that you screwed me over, just as bad as you screwed her and she thought I'd keep her secret." 

"I'm glad she has someone so capable looking after her," He told her. 

She blushed. He loved seeing her blush like that. She blushed like that because he told her that he was proud of her. Just a little while ago, he never thought he would even be able to trust Laurel again. God, he was an idiot. This woman took his challenge and told him, you know, I'm raising you some stakes and I'll prove to you that I can be better than I was. Her courage, he wished he had that. He was a coward though. He didn't know how long he could keep her separate from his Arrow life, considering he hadn't done a great job of that, at all, but he wanted to have more of these moment and he knew she would hate him forever if she knew. All she knew was the justice system and making sure the right people were protected the legal ways. 

She didn't blackmail or put arrows in them to get the right guy and to put him away forever and god he wished he could be more like her. "Yeah, well, you know, someone has to keep the Queens from totally self destructing and I figured I might as well take that job," She said and shrugged her shoulders with a smile.

"You do it amazingly, by the way," He told her.  Always there. She would be right there by his side, helping his family and keeping him out of trouble, even when he didn't want her to be.

She shrugged, "It's what I do." She said as she ate more food and smiled at him.  They ate in comfortable silence and the others looked at them like they were an eclipse and it was a sight to behold. 

He looked to her and wiped his hands with a napkin. He looked at the food they devoured and smiled. It was just like the old times, when it was simple, when he was just a boy and she was just a girl and all they knew is that she would run the world one day and he would be forever scared that he'd never be good enough for her. "I know I have no right to ask this, because I've been terrible to her but do you think I could come over and just see Thea? I don't want her to talk to me, but if she's sleeping, I'd just like to see her." He asked.

She nodded. It wasn't his place, but it also was. Thea was part of the Queens.  "Come on," She said, exiting the booth they were in.  "You want to drive or should I?" She asked as she held the keys in front of his face and she cracked a stupidly happy smile.

He took the keys and she waited for the door to unlock. He pressed the button on the fob and they both got in. He drove to her apartment and reminded himself that it could have very easily been there apartment if he hadn't been an idiot five years ago. 

She took the key from his hand and opened the building door. He took her hand as they stood in the elevator. She let him. It was the first time he was going to see Thea since she walked out on him and Moira when they told him about Robert and how he loved her regardless. 

She squeezed his hand gently and smiled at him and he smiled back.  As the elevator dinged, they stepped out one at a time, and she led him down the hall and opened the door, making sure that he wasn't visible till she got a visual on Thea.

She chuckled when she saw that there was bad tv on her television and Thea passed out in an odd position with her junk food on her coffee table.  She opened the door wider for him.  

He came in and smoothed Thea's hair out of her face and looked at her like she was precious jewels for a moment. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and then looked back to Laurel. "Thank you," He whispered as he hugged her.

She hugged him back, full wraparound hug. She loved his hugs. They made her feel safe. She wanted nothing more than to be in his arms, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, crossed her ankles, and just smiled like the giddy idiot she was into his shoulder. "You don't have to go through it alone," She muffled into his shirt.

He cradled her head and smiled, "God, what did I do to deserve you?" He asked. 

"You came into my life at the right time and your family offered me the best education money could buy to help you. It was a pretty good deal." She told him and nodded with a little bit of a goofy smirk on her face.

Oliver put her down on the counter. "I should probably go," He told her.

"Or you could stay?" She asked him as he stood there.

He raised his eyebrow at her. She wasn't like that. At least he didn't think so.

"Not with me, you idiot," She said, groaning that he even had the gall to think about that. "I have an extra bedroom. And she's not using it." She nodded over to Thea. "Someone should. Besides, I know you want to check in on her at random points during the night." 

"I don't have any clothes," He offered, lamely.

She shook her head and jumped off the counter and went down the hall, beckoning him with her index finger as she opened up her closet and revealed a huge thing of his stuff from the past. "I know it won't all fit, but I'm sure you can find something." She told him.

"I would have thought you would have gotten rid of this stuff." He chuckled as he sat on the floor of the closet and looked through it. "God, I haven't seen this stuff in years." 

She shrugged as she sat next to him. "Couldn't bear the thought of losing what I had left of you." She told him. "I know it's stupid, but this, it helped me through it," A tear flushed out of her eye.

"It's not stupid at all," He murmured. He wiped the tear away and her face looked more beautiful unmarred by the pain. "You were my saving grace on the island. That little picture of you? It got me through the days. I talked to you. I saw you when I made decisions." 

"Really?" She asked him.

He nodded.  "Laurel, it's you and me. Through everything, right?" He asked. 

He sat there and for a minute he was actually afraid that she would turn his back on him. That she wouldn't want to do that. She wouldn't want to be at his side.  She came to the Arrow and told him that she knew, the she'd been attracted to him. Even though he was dangerous. But she never said those things to Oliver. And for a second, he thought that she might just leave him there in the dust. 

She smiled though. "Through everything, to hell and back." She said as she put her pinky out and he laughed and pinky swore her.  "It's official now, no take backsies." She giggled.

"Like I'd take backsies on that," He grinned and kissed her. One time. That's all this was. And it wasn't even a full on kiss, but it's presence suggested more. "I shouldn't have done that," 

Laurel jutted her lip and didn't seem all that worried about it. "Sara can give me one kiss. Besides, it was a friend kiss." She told him.

"Why are you so calm about us now, coeur?" He asked.

"Because," She started, "I know that when the right time comes, you'll have gone through the experiences you need to, be the man you need to be, and I'm gonna be there. And you're gonna see that I always believed in you. And you always believed in me. And it's gonna be destiny. Besides, true love isn't easy." She said as she bumped him with her shoulder.

"Right," He said as he stood up and smiled at her. He gave her a hand up, "I should let you rest. You have work in the morning." 

She believed in fate. She believed they were destined for each other. And that was enough for her to believe in him. And that was sort of beautiful. He went down the hall and thought that of all the things someone said, that was probably the sweetest.

"Oh, Ollie," Laurel said as she leaned out of the doorframe. He looked back to her.  "Thanks for taking me out tonight," 

He pushed the door happily. She was the one who took him out. She was the one who helped him.  She knew it too.  _You are important to me._ She certainly meant it. He looked to Thea. No one else would have taken her in, no questions asked, no hesitations. Laurel didn't share Thea's opinion, but she also didn't badger Thea with the fact she was wrong. 


	17. Take Him Just Because You Can

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel and Oliver get dragged to the state fair by Thea and Sara who leave Laurel and Oliver alone to roam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Take Him Just Because You Can  
> Words: 2631  
> Pairings: Laurel/Oliver, Thea/Sara brotp  
> Genre: Romance  
> Status: Done

"Hey," Sara said as she came into Laurel's bedroom.

Laurel rolled over and looked at the alarm and then looked back to Sara. "You've awoken me at seven and it's saturday. You better have a good reason for this," She said as she snuggled back into her pillow.

"Thea wants to go to the state fair." Sara told her.

Laurel groaned. Didn't Thea know that the State Fair was at least an hour away, "Right, and the problem is?" She asked as it became clear that Sara had no intention of leaving her room.

"A, I don't have a car. B, she wants you to come too. She said it wouldn't be as fun if she didn't have her lioness," Sara smiled to her. 

Laurel smiled a little. Dammit, Thea knew exactly what she was doing and she was incapable of stopping it. "Give me ten minutes," Laurel said as she rolled over and put her feet on the carpet and stretched her back.

Laurel took her phone out and looked at the weather. It looked like a fantastic day. There was no chance it was gonna be cloudy or gloomy, of course in California it never was in the summer. She rifled through her drawers and found some shorts and a tank top. She put a few essentials into a backpack and turned back and opened the door. "Hope everyone's ready." She said as she pulled the door closed and she looked to her living room.

There was Sara and Thea. And Oliver. "Hey," He said as he waved at her a little.

"I thought this was supposed to be a girl trip to the fair," She looked over at Thea and Sara.

Thea looked up at her with bright eyes and smiled, "Come on lioness, it'll be fun, I promise." She begged.

Laurel didn't look so sure but she looked over Thea's pleading eyes again and she gave in. "You driving?" She asked.

"Sure," He said.  She tossed him the keys and they moved out. "Laurel gets shot gun," He said before anyone could say anything.

Thea and Sara looked between them. "Why? That's not fair." They both whined.

"Because it's her car. And you guys didn't tell her that we were all going." Oliver said as he ran down the stairs and Laurel and their sisters ran behind them. 

Getting to the fair was easy enough. Oliver drove and Laurel put her feet on the dashboard, which he thought was adorable and curled up in a ball to sleep another hour. Thea and Sara talked excitedly about the bands they wanted to see and the food they wanted to eat.  Seemed like they had this figured out already.

Laurel woke up intermittently and smiled at him and talked to him a little.  He even held her hand for a few moments and it felt nice to be together and drama free for a little while.  They didn't have to be Canary and Arrow. They could be Oliver and Laurel, together forever. 

Laurel sat up right when they had about a ten minute stretch to drive through to get to the fair. She stretched her arms and he smiled at the window as he saw this through his periphery. "Anything exciting?" She asked him.

"Nope," He said as he looked to her for a minute and she put her hand over his and looked at him with those sleepy eyes and he knew she had no idea how ridiculously attractive all of that was.

Sara and Thea got anxious though.  "Are we there yet?" They asked.

"Almost," He soothed as he saw the sign for parking and the giddy schoolchildren they had in the back got more excited. 

It took five minutes to park and they just couldn't keep quiet and the second they were stopped, Thea and Sara bolted out of the car and raced toward the gate.  "They're excited," Laurel mused.

"Excited came and went twenty miles ago," He told her as he smiled. "Ready?"

She nodded as they went up liesurely and looked for Sara and Thea.  They were gone. "Funny how they invited us and then they left us." 

"Just means that we'll have to stick together," He told her. "I hear they have fried oreos here." 

She nodded. The thought that someone tried to fry an oreo was an interesting idea, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it, but they were here and they should enjoy it. 

It took a few minutes to get into it, but there were booths with people who were selling things and food and good music and after a few minutes she relaxed enough to smile and look at him.  "You never told me why you came," She told him.

"They asked me. Truthfully, I was a little skeptical at first too." He told her as he looked into her eyes.

"Well, we haven't tried fried oreos, yet," She blushed as he pushed a hair behind ear and walked till her nose found the fried oreos which smelled exactly like she thought they would, marshmallow filling and fried sugar dough.

He went after her and took her hand in his and she smiled to the linked hands as they stood in line.  "So what do you want to do today?" She asked him.

He shrugged. "I thought I'd watch you guys have fun, but now it's just you. So I don't really know what there is to do." He admitted.

"Oliver Queen, control freak extraordinaire didn't come prepared?" She asked in a shocked voice as her eyebrows raised into her hair and she genuinely smiled from side to side.

He shook his head and looked down at the ground and then back up to her. "Stop that," She didn't.  "Seriously, I didn't come into this any more prepared than you. Now let's get your cookie on a stick," He said as she looked to the counter.  The last people in front of them moved away and he took out his wallet and paid for two fried oreos. 

She blushed. "You didnt' have to do that." 

"Just stop looking at me with that maniacal smile and we'll call it even," He told her. 

She smiled to him again and the woman at the counter smiled at them. "How long have you been together?" She asked.

It took them both by surprise. They weren't together. Well, they kind of were. But they weren't together together. "We're not..." They both started and tripped over their words and the woman just laughed at them.

"Honeys, I've seen a lot of couples interact in my line. You two have what it takes," She said with a happy smile and gave them their fried oreos on a stick, "enjoy your food and the fair," She said to them, giving a suggestive wink and then looked past them. 

Laurel took a bite and smiled, "Oh, god, this is delicious." She gasped. 

The delight on her face was precious. She experienced something truly new to her. She never thought about frying her junk food to make it worse for you, but taste more delicious. "So what do you want to do?" He asked her as he took her hand as they walked away from the booth that sold the oreos to them and the woman who claimed they were the perfect couple. 

"Don't know," She shrugged as her bottom lip jutted out.  "Thought we would just walk and stop whenever something caught our fancy," She told him. 

He liked that idea. They took pictures and they had their picture taken. They roamed the booths and saw the pigs and she got licked by a goat which made her face do that adorable screwed up thing that she did. 

They square danced with some other people and she was bad at it. A good dancer. A great dance. And she couldn't get the handle of square dancing and it was wonderful.

He took a picture with the State's largest cow and wore that goofy smile she hadn't seen in years. They munched on chips and drank horribly overpriced sodas and talked about all the people who had too much beer and too little inhibition.  

Then they walked into the carnival booth games. 

The sheer enormity of the grin on her face startled him. He'd never seen her take a liking to something that quickly, except perhaps the fried oreo. "Do you want something?" He asked her. 

She looked to him with a look of awe on her face. "You want to win me something?" She asked him.

"Yeah," He told her.  "Just tell me what you want and I'll try to win it for you,' 

She practically skipped around the booths and then she stopped at one and looked up at the big prize, a set of patchwork bears. They were adorable in every way.  "That one?" She asked him.

He nodded. Yeah, it would be that one that she wanted.  He put his money on the side where the vendor picked it up and gave him a mini bow and some safe arrows to shoot at a target.  "You get the middle, you get the couple bear, that's the deal," He said and looked bored. 

Oliver fired the first arrow, expecting it to hit right on target, because he was trained in this. He was good at this. He was an expert at this very thing, shooting arrows. That was literally his thing. People gave him that stupid vigilante nickname "the Arrow" because of it.  

When it didn't go in, Laurel chuckled a little under her breath and he looked at her like this is not happening.  "This obviously isn't weighted properly," he muttered and he lined up to do it again.  

And again he missed.  "Wow, Ollie, maybe they should take those archery trophies back," She joked with him and he looked at her like she killed his dog.

"I'm gonna get it," He muttered once again under his breath.  How was this thing so damn hard? They were plastic arrows god dammit.  It was a plastic bow. It should have been easy, but it wasn't.

He missed twice more and she just stood there with the biggest smirk on her face.  "You know, you don't get this one, you're never gonna live it down, because I'm gonna tell the whole team buddy," She told him.  

"You wouldn't," His eyes narrowed at her and he took his eyes off the target for a minute.  "You can't even equate what we do this.  This thing, it's just plastic."

She just nodded to the target, "Then it should be easy for you to hit it," She told him and he looked her straight in the eye and released the arrow.  

"Did I get it?" He asked.

She looked to the target and the guy was looking at it too. Dead center.  He'd gotten it. He'd taken this rigged carnival game that cost way too much money and made it his bitch.  "Yeah," She said, laughing a little in spite of herself.

"Dude!" The geeky guy in the booth said as he got down the bear Laurel wanted and gave it to him.  "How'd you do that?" He asked.

"Just needed a little distraction," He told the guy without looking back.  He was still looking at her. The look of joy on her face. He gave her the couple bear and they played a few more games, collecting prizes left and right, eventually needing a bigger bag than the backpack she'd brought for all of them.  

When they got to the last game, they didn't realize they amassed a crowd, when they turned back to see all the smiling faces smiling back at them. "How do you two do it? Must be hard being such a talented couple." One lady said.

She looked into his eyes and shook her head. "We keep each other grounded. We laugh. And when one of us is taking it too seriously, the other is there to put a smile on our face," She said as she looked into his eyes and they sparkled back.

All the girls in the crowd swooned.  "Give a kiss? For luck." A man said as she lined up to do some skee ball and he looked to her, asking for permission, which she nodded he was granted. 

He took her face in his hands and kissed her and she kissed him back.  The crowd whistled and cheered and took pictures but he heard nothing from them. The moment was blessedly silent, the only thing he could hear was their breathing and she pulled away and threw the skee ball and kissed him again.  

"Congratulations miss," The lady at the counter said, "You won," 

They got away from all the people at the carnival because while it was fun, she needed to sit and the people at the games wouldn't leave them alone. "We should find Thea and Sara," She told him.

He got his phone out of her backpack and put his arms around her while they went and were in line for the ferris wheel.  He texted them to meet them at the gates in half an hour and put it back in her bag. "So," He said. "We kissed." 

"We did," She nodded. 

He looked to the ferris wheel and looked back to her.  "Did you like it?" 

"Did you like it?" She asked him as if he was the stupidest person on earth.

He nodded gently, "There is nothing I like more than kissing you," He murmured into her skin.

Her lips turned up and her skin glowed, "Well, then, I have some good news for you buddy." She told him and looked into his eyes.  "I never want to stop kissing you again." 

"I am a lucky man, couer, to have a girl like you." He said as they got on the ferris wheel and went slowly to the top and down again and up and down and so it went. Sort of like their relationship.  They'd go down, but they would rise again.

When they got up to the top for the very last time, she kissed him gently, and it was a normal kiss. Not a passionate makeout. Not something movies would thousand word scenes about, but something that made them both happy.  A kiss they didn't leave until they had to, because the right came to an end.  They got out and he hoisted her on his back and she screamed in delight.  "loup," She said as she hid her face in his shoulder.

"Told ya they'd be calling each other the french nicknames by the end of the day." They heard Thea's voice. "You owe me twenty," 

Sara looked at the happy couple and got her wallet out. "How'd you know that they'd be together so quickly?" She asked Thea. 

"Please, I've had matchmaking eyes for those two since he came back. They're perfect for each other." 

Laurel and Oliver looked to each other and looked to their siblings.  "You did this to set us up?" 

"We both got tired of the doe eyes and thought it was about time to do something about it. We knew you two wouldn't leave each other alone if you were all you had." Sara supplied.

"Thank you," Laurel said to them. "Now, let's go home. We've had a long day and I want to relax in bed." 

"You mean get it on in bed." Sara said suggestively and with a devious smile. 

"I can leave you here," Oliver said to her as they journeyed to the car.

Sara looked frightened at the thought and then went back to normal. "Honestly, I'm just glad you two got together. You two deserve happiness." 


	18. Quarter After One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver calls Laurel in the middle of the night because he's drunk and alone and needs someone's help to get home, but when Laurel finds him he's a little bit more passionate about staying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Quarter After One  
> Words: 2248  
> Pairing: Laurel/Oliver  
> Genre: Comfort/Romance  
> Song: Need You Now  
> Status: Done

Laurel worked at getting all of the paperwork and evidence together for her latest case. Kate never let her off easy after blackmailing her, twice. Honestly, Kate should have been better at her job, Laurel thought, but Kate was the boss and allowed to make those kind of decisions. 

"Where are you, scientific analysis?" She asked as she looked around for her files.

At this point in the night, she never expected any noise in her apartment. She couldn't go to sleep until this was done, but that was the good thing about working well into the night is that no one would bother her. Thea had come over for dinner and had stayed for terrible tv, but she went to a hotel. Sara was with dad and they probably both slept at this point.

 _Just a castaway / An island lost at sea / Another lonely day / With no one here but me._  Her phone chimed and she went over to pick up.  That could only be one person. 

"Ollie," She said and put the phone between her shoulder and ear as she looked for the files still. "You should be asleep and shouldn't be calling me," 

"Laurel," He said, deliriously happy, "I need someone to pick me up," 

She knew that tone. That was Ollie drunk. She looked to her case and couldn't find the evidence she needed. That was the one piece she needed. It was going to clench the case and Oliver called. "Don't you have a driver?" 

"He's got the night off," Laurel could hear the stupid grin on his face. "And all the cab services aren't open.  Come on, Laur, I need you." He pleaded to her in that whiny five year old voice that he loved when he was drunk. She didn't miss dealing with this. It was like pre-island Oliver all over again. 

She sighed and got out of her chair. "Where are you?" She asked him as she went and picked up her jacket from the coat hook. Truth to be told, without him, she was always a little alone. She put pictures of him up in her apartment, but it was never quite the same.

"I'm at the place by the pier." He smiled to her. 

She stopped in her tracks.  She saw her piece of evidence and put it with the pile of stuff she needed for court.

The place by the pier. Oh, there were a lot of memories there. No wonder he was getting drunk and having fun. But that didn't make sense as to why he needed a ride away from there. "Where are you trying to go?" She asked him in a quiet voice.

"I want to be with you," He said and stumbled, "Ow, I swear that chair moved," 

Laurel groaned. Great. He wasn't going to do anything but have this singular view. "Stay put. And sit down. I'm coming to get you. You're gonna come home with me, but you are staying in the guest bed." She told him, "You understand?" 

"You're so pretty," He said and she blushed. 

She put her coat on and took the elevator down. "Do you understand me, Ollie?" She asked him. 

She didn't want any temptation from him and he was temptation incarnate. She drove down to the place by the pier and smiled. It'd been awhile since she'd been to this place.  She came briefly after Tommy's will had been found and she was told that it was hers and Ollie's.

She opened the building door and jogged up the stairs and went down a hallway and found him by the door, but not in the apartment. "What are you doing out here? I thought I told you to stay where you were," She asked him.

"I thought I heard a noise and then I locked myself out," He shrugged and nearly fell over again. 

She rolled her eyes, of course he did.  She unlocked the apartment and opened the door and tried to find his keys, "Where'd you put the keys? You should be able to get in here again." She told him.

He beamed to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, "I think I put them in a bowl somewhere," He singsonged to her and kissed her neck.

She stiffened. "We really shouldn't do that," She told him. She wanted to, but he drank too much and it would feel like they were doing something hasty. They just got on a good level and this wasn't like that.

"Do you ever think of me, Laur?" He whispered into her ear.  "Because I think of you. Everyday. Everynight. I mean look at this place, Laur. It's practically a filled to the brim with memories," 

She struggled to get out of his arms and looked at him, "You know, we're supposed to be looking for your keys, so we can go home." She told him, but she felt her willpower wilting.

He let her go and went to the kitchen and she ached with loss. She didn't know what he was doing, but she followed him, surely as the moon followed the sun. "One for you, as well?" He asked as he got a bottle of aged whiskey out of a cabinet and looked at her with those loving eyes that said, I want to take you.  I want to be yours.

"AA remember?" She asked him as she showed him her chip as she held up her green chip.  "You shouldn't be drinking anymore either." 

"One more," He told her.

She nodded and took her place by his side. "Only one more," She didn't want to have to carry him down the stairs. This place was nice, but in their brilliance, they had not considered an elevator a key sticking point when they bought the place when they were teenagers.  Actually, Tommy bought it. They went with it. 

He looked at her hands which fiddled with the AA chips, she'd already gotten. "How long has it been?" He asked her as he brushed her temple with the backs of his fingers and looked into her eyes. 

She smiled down at them, "100 days clean," She said and looked into his eyes. "100 days since that fight," A tear slipped from her and she tried to stay strong but he saw through it. That fight killed her on the inside. He was the killing blow and he never apologized for that.

"You know, I said some things back then that I regret." He told her.  "I was confused. I wanted you. I wanted all of you. And you were just slipping away. And it felt like I was never going to have you again. And my life was falling apart. And you were the one person I needed more than anything and you were dying. And I couldn't take it anymore. I needed you then. And I need you now," He told her as the alcohol coursed through his system telling him this was a good idea. 

"Do you mean it?" She said as she took the glass out of his hand and looked dead straight into his eyes.

He nodded and looked away from her for a second, but there she was all fight and all strength and he released a breathe. "There is no one I need more," He told her.

Laurel took Oliver's face in her hands and pulled him down to kiss her. This was probably a bad idea.  There was history behind them. They hadn't talked out the details. He hadn't apologized. He dated her sister. But it was a quarter after one and she needed to taste the bright woody taste of that expensive single cask whiskey on his breath. 

Oliver was into it as he circled her waist with her arms and brought her closer.  He put her keys, with the AA chips attached, on the counter and kissed down her neck, "I thought you wanted to go home," He said, words in between kisses. 

"Don't let me think about it," She managed to get out and she took his head in her hands once more and looked at him and smiled, "Just for one night, let's forget about the whole complicated thing and be you and me. Together. We'll deal with the rest of it in the morning," 

He nodded to that. He wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed her collarbone and the hollow of her neck and the tried to push her jacket out of the way while she worked at getting his shirt over his head. 

Her insistent hands stopped him from his pursuit of her fantastic body and he took the shirt off and she grasped at his neck. They were losing control and fast and he needed to get to the bed before they really got in trouble. 

He carried her into the bedroom and threw the coat away. He looked at her for a minute. She was in some short shorts and a sheer top, "Are you trying to kill me, Laur?" He asked, out of breath, god she was beautiful.

"No talking," She told him as she kissed him.  "And sure, I'm trying to kill you. Like I could." She said before he put her on the bed and climbed in right on top of her. 

She hiked her leg up around him and didn't stop kissing him.  They had the night and they planned on using it. 

Her cell phone beeped in the other room and she opened up her eyes and saw Oliver. She saw Oliver in bed with her. She saw that she wasn't in her own apartment and then it all came back to her. They were out by the ocean. He called, drunk, and needing a ride. And she came over and then things happened. 

She pushed herself away and held her head in her hands and shook it. How could she? She was supposed to be the one with resolve, but she melted quickly when he told her she mattered to him. 

She heard him moving to lay on his side. "Please don't tell me you regret this," He murmured to her.

She looked back to him and he was really taking this hard. She wanted him, the display last night showed that neither of them was ready to give this up. "I don't regret it. But for now, this is a one time thing."

"As I recall, Tommy was supposed to be a one time thing too. Didn't exactly turn out the way you planned," He told her with a grin. 

She leaned back over and kissed him sweetly on the mouth. "It never really does, but you needed me then. And right now, I need to go home, and get ready for work. You know, some of us still have jobs." She told him with a grin. 

He jokingly put a hand over his heart and acted like he was hurt by the thought.  "You know, I could take you to work?" 

"Are you gonna give me any choice?" She asked him. 

He shook his head. "I'd probably still follow you if you didn't let me." He told her. 

She sighed and looked to him and really looked him in the eyes, "Tell me one thing," 

"Anything," He promised her.

"Why'd you come here to get drunk? You own a bar. And your driver didn't really have the night off, did he?" She asked him.

He sighed. That was the question wasn't it? "The truth?" He asked her.

She nodded to him because even if it was weird or sentimental or something stupid, she wanted to know why it was here that he picked to call her and show her that side of him again.

"For the record, Diggle definitely had the night off. But I came here because I wanted to be close to you. I wanted to be close to the memory of you in my arms in a way that I couldn't ask of you anywhere else. And I wanted to think back to when it wasn't complicated. Back to when it was me and you and tommy and all we needed was each other.  I needed your memory because you wouldn't be pissed at me for the things I've done even though I've been so very wrong in my life. And that girl would have." 

She hushed him for a second. "I have been so very pissed at you. I was pissed at you for five years. So don't punish yourself for me. But I need you too."  She told him.  "I need you now. And I'm always gonna need you. We need each other. We always have." She told him as she ran her fingernails through the little bits of hair that stuck on the sides of his head. 

"So a one time thing?" He asked.

She nodded. "A one time thing. But we should go out sometime, just me and you." 

"I think that can be arranged," He said as he picked up some clothes and put them on. "Come on, we need to make sure you're not late. Unless, you want to be. And in that case, we can take a shower here." 

"No," She laughed out loud, "I'm taking a shower at my apartment. Alone. With the door locked. Because I know you, you sneaky bastard." She wagged her finger at him and smiled.

He shrugged, "Worth a shot." 


	19. Committed (to the Cause)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and David go missing after their engagement party and Laurel and Oliver, who have had a tempestuous relationship the past couple of months, must work the case together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Committed (to the Cause)  
> Words: 2562  
> Pairing: Sara/OMC, Laurel/Oliver  
> Genre: Action/Romance  
> Status: part 1 of 2

The event was Sara and David's wedding. They hadn't known each other long, but Sara told her that it was true love. And that it was important. And that they needed to be their for each other. After all, she would always be there for Laurel. 

"I'll have a glass of champagne, please," She told the bartender and he smiled at her. Oliver walked up, "and a shirley temple for the lady," She said in a smarmy voice and Oliver looked amused.

He looked at the glass the bartender gave her. "Back to alcohol? Thought you were on the sober train." 

"Trust me, Ollie, I'd be much more unbearable sober," She told him as she held up her drink and cheersed it to an imaginary thing. "And the last thing anyone wants is making a scene. That was always Sara's job." She said as she sipped on her champagne and looked at David and Sara who were cutting cake and being happy. "Besides Sara just hitched herself to a guy she barely dated. She doesn't even know anything about him. I've known enough heartache to know real love when I see it and those two," She said as she looked at them so happy and wonderful.  "They don't have it." 

"Are you sure you're not just jealous that your baby sister got the altar and to wear the wedding dress before you did?" He asked her. He could hear the spite in her voice. She didn't believe in Sara and David that much was obvious, but it seemed to go a lot deeper than that.

She narrowed her eyes at him and looked disgusted with the thought. "This is not a competition between Sara and I." 

He chuckled a little. Oh, it had always been a competition and he knew it. But Sara wasn't the issue. It was about Laurel feeling like Sara always won. "So why are you keeping score?" He asked her. "She's happy.  And maybe it wouldn't kill you to show a little support." He told her.

Oh he should have known better than to make it a challenge, because she got that look in her eyes like she wanted to win.  "Support?" She asked him, daring him to say it again. "Oh, I'll show you support." 

She used him as a steady shoulder as she climbed up on the stool she had been sitting on and he realized he probably shouldn't have challenged her.  She took a fork and a full champagne glass from the next roaming waiter that came across them.  And then she was clinking the glass. Oh, god.

"Ladies and gentlemen," She started and Oliver stood there shocked at what he cause, "honored guests, my name is Laurel Lance, and most of you may know me as Sara's sister, aka the maid of honor. And when Sara and I were little, we made each other a promise. We would never get married until we found our soulmates." 

Sara beamed at this. "The one person in the whole world we destined to be with," Laurel continued. "Which is why you can't take a ten year old on their word," Laurel said.

"Okay, come on," Oliver said as he picked Laurel up and put her down behind him while everyone gasped, shocked and aghast at what Laurel had said. "What I think Laurel is trying to say is that you can never predict when you're going to find the one you love completely. And that David is that special someone for Sara," He said and everyone cooed. "I've known Sara the seventh grade and in all the years, the Lances have known the Queens, I have never seen Sara as happy as she is with David." Laurel rolled her eyes, but no one paid her any mind. "Congratulations to David and Sara."  He turned back to Laurel. "How was that?" 

Everyone loved that toast. Except Laurel. She looked back to the bar. When Oliver came back to her, he smiled. "You weren't supposed to take over. And that was lame." She told him.

"Come on, Laur." He said, giving her his hand, "We're getting you home before your father has something to say," He told her. She grudgingly gave him her hand.  

Laurel woke up the next morning and unstuck her head from a leather couch and looked around as she threw back the sheet. "Oliver!" She yelled.

"Good morning, Laur." Oliver said with a smile as he handed her some coffee and aspirin, "Thought you might want these," 

She tossed the aspirin in her mouth and took a sip of coffee. She looked over to see her dress from the night before on the chair facing her.  "Please tell me we didn't." She told him.

He shook his head. "It's been awhile since I've experience the Laurel Lance hungover hysterics," He told her as he took the dress off the chair and throwed it in her direction, "No, you were a big girl lawyer and got dressed all by yourself. In the kitchen, but it was your choice," 

"You know you could have taken me to my apartment. Or left me at the hotel. I would have been fine," She argued with him as he opened the blinds and let the light in and it hurt so much.

He smiled at her, a little angry. "Your father was at your apartment and I didn't think you really wanted to deal with him, drunk when you are supposed to be model AA recovery story. And I don't think Sara and David would have wanted to deal with the Katy Perry sing-a-long. God knows I didn't." He told her a little bit angry, but ultimately in good spirits. 

"Oh god," She said as she realized what time it was, "Sara's gonna kill me. I was supposed to at a dress fitting this morning." 

"Do you need my help?" He asked her as she put her heels on.

She shook her head, "No, Ollie, you may have held my hair, and thank you for that, but I do not need you to hold my hand. I can drive a car." 

"You don't have your car here," He told her.

She looked at him, "What?" She asked.

"Hungover. Means previously too intoxicated to drive. As a lawyer would say. So I didn't let you," He told her.

She sighed, "Thank you for the ride," 

They raced to Sara's place quickly and Laurel opened the door with her key. "Sara," She called. "Sara, you know what Laurel likes to see? Not naked bodies. Clothes are good. On everyone." She said.

"David," Oliver as he looked at the bedroom. They weren't home, but the bed was covered in roses and there was champagne and light music. "I have no idea, he was so romantic," He said to Laurel.

Laurel looked in and found handcuffs.  Interesting. Pink fuzzy handcuffs. She'd seen things like it before, but she hadn't seen them in relation to sara. "Guessing Franky gets a little skanky," She said as she put them on her hands.

Oliver looked back to Laurel to see what she was talking about and seeing her in the handcuffs, oh god, it wasn't good.  That was definitely not good. Seeing her in the handcuffs triggered something definitely in him. Laurel was a lawyer and she'd almost never been in handcuffs, but she looked absolutely divine in those. He couldn't let her know that she was getting to him though. 

Oliver saw the mail on the inside of the door that hadn't been collected. And Laurel went over to the computer and looked at the IMs and the emails. She opened a video that went loud with er obnoxious that she'd apparently IMed to Chloe. "Chalk that up to the drunken stupor," She said, and looked thoroughly embarrassed. "Ollie, look at this." 

Oliver came over and looked at an email which read:

From: Starling City P.D.  
To: sara.lance@gmail.com  
Subject: Car Impounded

We're looking for a Sara Lance and David Frank.  Your car has been impounded for obstructing a street cleaner. You have 90 days....

"So wait, they didn't even come home last night?" He asked.

She looked at the email. "Doesn't look like it. You should call Felicity. See if she can figure out where they went." 

"Right," He told her and did exactly that. "hey, Felicity, Sara and David didn't come home last night. Could you see if there was anything weird. The engagement party was last night, and that's where Laurel and I saw them last." 

"How is she?" Felicity asked. "Heard there was a mishap with the speech she was giving." 

He looked to Laurel who was looking through drawers and trying to find anything in the apartment that connected where Sara and David would have gone. "She's better now. She'll be the best if you can tell me where they went." 

"I'll see what I can do." She told him. 

He hung up the phone and looked to Laurel. "She's doing her magic. We should go back to the Cave and be there when she learns what's what." 

"Right," She told him.

He took her by the shoulders. "We're gonna find them." 

They went back to the foundry and smiled as they saw Diggle and Felicity typing manically on keyboards, "Please tell me we have some good news." 

"Depends on your definition of good," Diggle said as he looked up at Oliver. "I've been through the recent records at the Hospital and the Police Station, they're not there."

Felicity maneouvered her chair to look at Oliver and Laurel. Laurel wasn't impressed and gave Felicity a flat look. "Right you want actual good news. And in that case, I don't have any. But I do have a pattern. About fifteen couples have gone missing in the last 8 weeks. Nothing overt connects them, except that they were engaged and had an announcement in the paper."

"Who would prey on people during the happiest time of their lives?" Laurel said as she crossed her arms and gave the papers back.

Oliver looked at Laurel, "So you agree they're happy?"

"Can we not do this now, Ollie? My sister is missing." She said to him.

Oliver looked at Laurel who clearly looked like she was taking on a lot of guilt. "Look, Laurel,  it's not your fault." 

"If I hadn't had too much to drink. I would have been there to stop whatever this is. I mean we called the Police. You know that they won't declare them missing for 24 hours. And I wasn't there to help them. I could have stopped this," She said as she tried desperately not to let the tears come.

Oliver grabbed her arm and looked into her eyes. "Or you could have been gone too. Right now, what matters is your safe. And that we find them. And we're going to find them." He said and looked to Felicity who turned back to her computer and desperately started working the key again.

"Oh, oh, oh, I'm good. I'm so good. You should call me, Truly McGood, because that's how good I am," Felicity said excited as she turned to them and none of them were pleased.  "So I was checking out the transaction history on all of the cards.  And I tracked the vendors they went through for the wedding, they all had a bunch of them in common, including," She told them. "A jewelry store. A bakery. And a wedding stationary store just to name a few." 

"Can you print a list?" Laurel asked.  A lead. A lead meant promise. 

Felicity looked at the printer. "Done and done. You now have all the vendors in Starling City which might have something to do with this." She told them. "Nail the bad guy okay?" 

"Oh, trust me," Laurel said as she drew her jacket over her. "We will." 

The search did not go well. Laurel was cranky. Partly because she hadn't eaten all day. Partly because all of the couples kept asking her about how she felt being married. "If this were the last place on earth and I had a need of a pen and paper, I would not come here," She shouted at the owner and Oliver looked amused.

"You can't just yell at everyone. I know it's not in your nature to be super polite, but you're making people less willing to work with us than the should be." Oliver told her as he righted her down the street.

Laurel looked him in the eye. "My sister, your ex lover, and her fiancee are gone and could be hurt or dying or worse. and you want me to worry about polite?"

"Exactly why we need to stop wasting time," He told her.

We need answers and we are running out of parts to put in the clock. So what do you suggest we do?" She asked him. Honestly, anything was better than nothing at this point. 

"You should go back to the foundry and see if Felicity has the background checks done, while I handle the rest." 

Laurel shook her head. "Oh no, you're not getting rid of me. I'm in this all the way. You're coming with me. Or I'm going with you." 

"Look, Laurel covering more ground might help us." He said to her. Honestly, he didn't want to see Laurel in another wedding store.

Laurel thought about it for a moment and then her face lit up. "Wait," She said. "This person. They're preying on couples. I mean they've had a fairly big pattern." She said.

"Don't you even say it Laurel," He told her. 

She wasn't dissuaded though. "If we go in there like a happy couple, ready to be married, then we can have them working on us. They're bound to make a mistake eventually." She told him.

"Except no one would believe you and me as an engaged couple." He laughed a little. 

She just shook her head and smirked at him. "Oliver Jonas Queen, will you marry me?" She asked him with a devious smile. 

He looked less than enthused about the idea, but it wasn't a bad plan as far as hair brained plans went. "We should make sure that Diggle and Felicity know so that if we go missing, they know what's going on." 

He called Felicity. "So Laurel and I are playing married for this guy. Just make sure we don't go missing." Oliver told her.

"You're kidding, right? You and Laurel are like world war III right now."

He pressed his lips into a line and sighed. "This person is preying on couples. And we can be one."

"Try not to kill each other." 

"Goodbye Felicity," He told her.

Felicity Chuckled. "Congratulations on your happy engagement." She said and he clicked off.

"Okay they know." He told Laurel. "Where to next?" 


	20. Committed (to the Cause) pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and David go missing after their engagement party and Laurel and Oliver, who have had a tempestuous relationship the past couple of months, must work the case together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Committed (to the Cause)  
> Words: 3614  
> Pairing: Sara/OMC, Laurel/Oliver  
> Genre: Action/Romance  
> Status: part 2 of 2

They pushed the door of the ring store open and Laurel walked in first with Oliver behind her, "Come on, Ollie hold my hand. And an occasional smile wouldn't kill you," She told him.

He laughed a little, "There in short supply right now, wouldn't want to waste one," She kicked him lightly in the shins with her heels. Regardless of how light it actually was it hurt and he squeezed her hand because of it. "You are not being a very good fiancee." He whispered in her ear.

"Well, well, well, I never expected you to come into my shop Mr. Queen. Didn't think you believed in the lifestyle," The man chuckled at his own joke about Oliver's playboy lifestyle. Laurel frowned. It was one thing for people who knew him to make jokes. It was quite another for strangers to do so. "Is there anything I can help you with?" The sales associate asked.

Oliver smiled to him and looked down to Laurel.  "Well, finally managed to find the right girl. We are finally out ring shopping. Because I am the luckiest man in the world to have this gorgeous woman," He said as she looked up at him with that very loving look on her face.  He had to admit she could sell this pretty well. 

"Yeah, he's a totally new man, completely doting," Laurel added. "My sister said that your store was the best in town for rings and I thought I want nothing but the best," She told the associate who smiled to them.

"Is there a particular piece you're interested in looking at?" 

Laurel took to the glass cases and saw the all of the sparkling engagement rings.  There were one with sapphires and topaz and emeralds and diamonds.  Oliver smiled at her. She was a kid in a candy store around her.  "What about this one, darling?" She asked as she pointed at a glinty platinum ring with two large pink stones on the side with a whopping diamond in the middle. 

"Anything you want, pumpkin," He said as he stood on the other side of the case and put his hands in his pockets. The associate unlocked the case and took the ring out and gave it to Oliver who pulled his hands out and looked to Laurel as he held it. "Must be a hell of job to see so many happy couples come through here everyday." He said.

"Oh," The sales associate's smile gleamed. "It's very fulfilling, helping solidify the bond between husband and wife." He said as he looked down at his shoes and then looked back up to Oliver who held the ring. "Excellent craftsmanship, IF clarity, color G, round cut, and a carat diamond. A symbol of transparency and eternality of your love," He said to them. "Why don't you try it on?" 

Oliver looked at the ring that Laurel picked out. It was beautiful in way that couldn't be stated.  He thought a lot about love when he saw that ring. 

"Come on, sweetie," Laurel said, as she waned to squeeze his hand, but couldn't and she simply held it out in front of him as he marveled at the ring. "Can't get stage fright now. You're gonna have to do in front of the sold out crowd sooner or later." She told him.

The associate laughed a little at her joked and Oliver snapped back and looked to her. He took her hand gently in hers and put the ring on her finger. It looked more beautiful on her finger than it did in the case or in his hand. 

"Well wouldn't you know, a gorgeous fit for a gorgeous lady," The sales associate said as he looked at the beautiful way that it set on Laurel's hand. She breathed a little happy and smiled to it. Perfection really. She clasped her other hand behind it.

The door opened behind them and they looked behind them. Slade Wilson came in. Well, that was different. "What are you two doing here?" He asked them. 

"Slade," Laurel said as she looked at Oliver and then looked back to Slade. "Your invitation must have gotten lost in the mail." 

"Invitation?" He asked as his brows furrowed together.

Laurel nodded. "You should tell him, love," Laurel took Oliver's hand and held it in her own and he stroked the knuckles. 

"Laurel and I," He said as he looked at her with a beaming smile and then looked back to Slade. "We're finally getting married." 

Slade laughed. Was it that unbelieveable like Oliver had said before? They were a couple for years. They had their bad moments. And he'd also spent five years on an island. And there was some rocky moments afterwards, but they shouldn't be that unbelievable.  Laurel flashed her ring at him and smiled a little sadly, "Oh, you're serious about that?" 

"Yes," Oliver said as he wrapped Laurel in a hug where she could still look at Slade. "We kept it under wraps because you know how much the media would have a field day and Laurel wants to be able to go to work every morning without a media frenzy."

Slade looked at Laurel, "Seriously? You're gonna marry him? Last time we talked you two were friends." He said.

"Oh, you know, we've always been friends," Laurel said, slapping the air, and pushing that thought away, "But you know, we had a magical night and something changed and he kissed me and then we decided we'd give it another go. And this time it worked. We were both in the right place at the right time with each other," She said as she looked down at her feet.

Slade looked at both of them and just couldn't believe it. "Something about this smells off," He gruffed out.

Oliver let Laurel go and gave Slade a pat on the back. "Well, it's all true." They had to go. Slade knew Oliver better than anyone and they shouldn't be there any longer. 

They walked out and the sales associate made a noise but it was too late. "See you at the wedding," Laurel breathed out as she waved to Slade and they were out the door and they were gone. "That was a close one." Laure said as she pushed her hair back. "What the hell was he doing in there?" 

Oliver looked at her puzzled, "Hell if I know. Slade's never exactly been the commitment type. Except to rage. He's surprisingly good at committing to that." He looked at her finger.  "You still have the ring on your finger." 

"Shit," She said. "We can't take it back. We'd have to explain to Slade. And that weird associate." 

Oliver just sighed. "They'll just put it on the Queen tab no doubt. They know we're good for it." He looked a little amused in the end, "Besides, it looks good on you."

"And it gives you credibility," She told him as she smiled.  She looked to her list of vendors, "So the next place on the list is the cake place that they've all checked out." She told him. "Ready to pick the most important flowers of your life?" 

"Not really, I just want to find your sister." He said and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

Laurel nodded her head to the side. "Well, you don't get much of a choice. We're going." She told him as they perused the list.  Everyone was very nice to them and they were always welcome in the shops.  He'd realized that Laurel knew a lot of people in the wedding business and seeing her interact with them was something amazing.

 

Still nothing seemed out of the ordinary and Felicity looked into everywhere they pinged for more than about fifteen minutes which was all of the wedding places. 

He couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable around all of it. Laurel knew exactly what to say. He sort of enjoyed when she had shaken down the stationary store in hindsight. But everyone acquiesced when she asked the weird questions. 

She seemed tired of the whole charade after the linen's vendor and picking out shades of green that the table settings should be. She pulled him to Maven's Cake Shop, which was just about the most highly regarded wedding cake place in Starling.  

He watched as she wheeled and dealed just like a regular bride would and it was starting to feel very real and she looked like she could be doing this for real.  Her acting skills rocked. They had a tasting and she talked to the baker like she knew him.  She probably did know him, now that he thought about it and it was just odd.  

They stopped talking and Laurel went to look at something in the backroom with another baker and the head baker looked at him, "You are Mr. Queen, sweet of you marrying Miss Laurel.  She save my cake shop two years ago, crooked landlord wanted to take us out of business, but Miss Laurel, she helped me take him to court and get him to lower the rent. She has very good taste in cake. You very lucky man." Laurel returned when he said that and he looked at the baker.  The baker looked back at Laurel. "I wish you all the best on a very happy marriage, Miss Laurel.  And remember Mr. Queen, very lucky man." 

"You have no idea," He said as he took Laurel's hand and walked her out of the cake shop.  "Are we done with the list?" He asked.

She chuckled at him. "You'd think someone was trying to kill you. Not asking you to be pretend to be happy. If this is how you take nonserious weddings, well, at least your eventual wife will get everything she wants from the wedding. If not from the marriage." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked her as he stood out in the street.

Laurel marveled at the ring that she'd been allowed to keep. It still felt extravagant, but it felt perfect for a Queen bride to be. She looked over at him.  "I mean if this is how you take pretending to committed to someone, I do not envy your future model wife, but she'd have a blank checkbook to do as she pleased with the wedding." 

He looked to her, "Right, well, if you want to find your sister, this is taking too long. We should split up and cover more ground." Everyone seemed to love the idea of them as a couple, the vendors at least, but he wasn't so sure about it. 

"We've already told people. What if the guy comes after after you because he already knows?" She asked him.

He looked her straight in the eye and said, "Then I'll handle it." 

"What if I get hurt because he comes after me?" She asked him. She saw the flash of hurt in his eyes and she smiled.  "That's right, we're sticking together."   She told him, "But we should probably go back to the cave. The last couple of ones seem harmless enough. I've known all of those guys, they're vetted." She told him. 

He drove them back to the Foundry and as they got out of the car, her phone rang. "Really?" He asked her.  "Who is it?" 

"My dad," She told him.  "I've got to take it." 

Someone flashed their lights behind them and he looked over at them. "Hey bro, you're not supposed to be here. The parking lot for customers is over there." 

The next thing he saw was a gun and a gravely voice started, "Let's see if you and your fiancee know real love," He said and then there was a shot and he was done.

"Oliver, hon, my dad wants to talk to you, they found Sara and Owen, they know who it is, it's that creep from the ring store." She said as she looked behind her and saw Oliver on the ground, "Oliver." She took in the scene with his body, "Oliver, stay with me!" She yelled at him and pushed the button that alerted Felicity they were in trouble.  

The gravelly voice took his time "Don't worry, you'll be with him soon," And then he shot her too and dumped them both in the back of the car.

They both woke up kind of hazy and Laurel rolled her head to the side and then back to the center and saw Oliver sitting on the other side of her and a man with a really sharp knife in front of her. "Ollie! Oh god, Ollie!" She screamed.

Oliver looked at her and tried to hush her. "It's okay, we're gonna get out of this." He told her as he looked at the Laurel who was all done up in polygraph equipment and he looked down and he was too. 

"I know who he is, he's the guy from the ring store," Laurel told Oliver and tried to even out her breathing. 

The sales associate from the ring store took of the mask and smiled to them, "Well, you know, at least I don't have to wear the mask now," He told them as he fiddled with the equipment.

"That's it. We're dead. He took off the mask and we're dead because we've seen his face," She said as she looked into Oliver's eyes who just looked at her like she was the most important person on earth. 

The sale's associate shrugged. "My name is Derek." He said and the bored expression on his face said everything. "And don't be so sure about death. Really, if you love each other, it shouldn't be a problem." 

"Just let her go," Oliver ground his teeth and struggled against the bonds. Laurel should never have to deal with this. She was only trying to help her sister.

Derek grinned from ear to ear. "Oh, don't worry, Ollie. Once she goes, then you'll get your round." 

"Is this some kind of sick game to you, you psychopath? Do you get off on this?" Laurel asked in a panicked voice. She didn't need this. Oliver struggled against his bonds again to no avail. 

Derek stroked her face and she shuddered. "Oh, no game. This is very real. And it's a test. To see how much you're truly keeping from each other."  He went back over to the polygraph machines and smiled as they seemed to be working in fine order. "If you pass, you're gonna want to invite me to the wedding and I'm gonna get a big piece of that cake from Maven's and if not, well cake is gonna be the least of your worries, darlings,"  He told them as he fiddled with a few more things. "Oh, by the way, nice ring,"

Laurel looked down at her hand and the band was still on her finger and she looked to Oliver who didn't know what to do and resolved that they would get out of this one way or another. 

"So ladies first, have you ever slept with someone who wasn't your fiancee in the time you've known each other?" He asked her as he held the knife in his hand.

Laurel looked to Oliver and looked to Derek who was a crazy person and strengthened her resolve.  "No, of course not." She said, proud and confident. But the line pinged in a direction that Derek frowned at and he went over to Oliver and slit his right pec right open, nice and deep. Oliver groaned in pain and Laurel screamed. "What are you doing? You're killing him. Stop it." 

Derek did and went over to her and wagged his finger in front of her face. "Your lies are what's killing him." 

"I take it back, okay? Just don't hurt him, please don't hurt him," She was crying. 

Oliver looked over to Derek who went and fiddled with the machines again. "Hurting us, killing us, isn't going to help with your pain," 

"I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing it for you." Derek said as he brought the knife back over and explained. "The broken hearted. They're zombies. They're dead and they have to live with that pain. So I'm making sure that you guys are the third option, actually sweethearts, but if you aren't well, I'm sparing you a lot of pain," He told them. "It's actually romantic of me." 

"You're crazy.  And look," Laurel said as she looked to her shoes and focused on them for one minute before looking up at the madman.  "the things is, we're not even really a couple. We're just friends who were looking for my sister. This test doesn't mean anything." 

Derek looked back and twirled his knife as he had the readout in front of him nice and clear "Deep down, underneath it all, are you in love with this man?" He asked.

Laurel looked to Oliver who shook his head. This would surely be the downfall. This was where they were going to die.  He knew he didn't deserve her love and he didn't have it.  This man was obsessed with love. And the truth. There was no chance in hell they were going to win with love. But there was a chance that if the result came out as truth that Derek might let them live a little longer.  "Just tell the truth, Laurel. It's okay." 

"Yes, keep in mind, that I will kill him if you lie to me," Derek said, holding a knife to Oliver's throat.

Oliver gulped a little and looked Laurel in the eye. "Don't overthink it. Just tell the truth." 

"Do you love him?" Derek asked as he twitched the blade a little closer and breathed in.  He was getting off on this in a weird way.

Laurel looked back to Oliver's face, who told her again. "Tell the truth. It's gonna be okay." 

 "Do. You. Love. Him?" Derek screamed at her as he brought the blade to the point where it was pricking skin.

Laurel looked down at her shoes and let out a small sob.  This was not what she wanted for either of them. This was not the way she planned things.  She looked back up and her face resolved, and she started to look into Oliver's eyes and said with clarity, "Yes." 

The polygraph stayed where it was at and Oliver didn't hear the scratch and he looked at her.  She loved him.  She loved him. She loved him. She loved him. Why the hell she did that, he'd never know, but she loved him and that was all that mattered.

He went to the polygraph and smiled at Oliver's.  "And you, are you in love with this woman?" He asked.

Oliver looked away and refused to answer. He stole himself away to the mental training he'd had.  

"I can't hear you. You're gonna have to speak up. Are you in love with this woman?" 

"Freeze!" Booming voices shouted as Oliver grabbed the guy with what little leverage he had and threw him to the side. Diggle and the gang.  Oh thank god. 

They undid both Laurel and he from the bonds and he thought they were okay, until the scrawny jerk climbed on her and stabbed her in the shin. 

Oliver flung him across the room and made sure the knife wasn't with him when he took part of his shirt sleeve and ripped it and put it around the wound after her took the knife out.  "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm not sure," She said to him as he picked her up bridal style and carried her out. 

"Let's get you out of here," He told her as he carried her up the stairs and they had a conversation with a few of the police which had magically shown up just in time. 

A few days later, he knocked on her door. "So you got everything smoothed over with Sara?" He asked.

"Yeah," She said as she turned from her desk and looked at him with a smile, "We talked about how it was sweet that I cared that much about her, but that I need to pick appropriate destinations for the avenues of my truth. Even made up with Owen." 

"Haven't seen you since you said you were in love with me." He said.  "We've been at the same parties where I know you were there and I didn't see you in the past couple of days.  Are you avoiding me?" 

"No," She said, blushing and looked down at her hand with the ring still on it and the her feet, "I just didn't know how to deal with you. And us. Because I meant what I said back there. Always have and always will."

"Do you want to try dating again? I mean I already got my greatest girl a ring? That sort of entitles me to another shot right?" He asked with a smile.

Laurel looked up and saw a smile on his face. "You're not joking around?" 

He smiled. "Nope. Sort of want to try to committed thing again. It was always best when it was with you."

"Then let's give it another go. Crazy as that is." She said as she leapt to her feet and hugged. him and felt his body up close. He hissed and she looked apologetic.  "I'm sorry," She said as she remembered his pec had been cut.

He shook his head, "Don't be. I always knew it was dangerous being in love with you." He gave her a quick kiss and then put her down. "How about dinner?" 


	21. Should Be Hopeless (But We're Happy)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel has to make a big decision and it's clouding her judgement. Oliver calls it out and they get some unexpected results of that fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Should Be Hopeless (But We're Happy)  
> Words: 2118  
> Pairing: Laurel/Oliver  
> Genre: angst/comfort  
> Status: Done

Laurel sat a computer in the middle of the foundry and she stared at the screen.  He watched her do that for about an hour.  He wondered what was going through her head, but she seemed busy.  She seemed busy and that was enough to keep her.  Sara didn't say anything. Felicity didn't say anything. Diggle and Roy didn't say anything.  And he learned his lesson a couple of weeks ago that if Laurel didn't want to broach something, he needed to let her come in her own time

They went out into the field and she definitely felt distracted. This was a huge honor. It was a big promotion. It meant a lot of strings attached though. She went through the motions without focusing on the fight.

Sara saw her telegraphing moves and she knew the goon that Laurel kept fighting off saw it too.  She couldn't get in between them though.  

Oliver looked over as Laurel opened herself up to a right cross in the face and some knees to the chest. Shit. He went over to her side and got the goon off of her. "What the hell, Laurel? That guy should have been a piece of cake," He exclaimed.

She was a much better fighter than that guy.  "Yeah," She brushed him. "Just a surface wound. Don't worry. I'm in it now." She told him as she picked herself up off the ground and brushed herself off. 

"You sure?" He asked.

Laurel narrow her eyes at him.  "I'm fine," 

The rest of the night went pretty reasonably. Dr. Moreau, the mad scientist hellbent on the singularity who was testing on the fresh patients he got from the psychiatric ward, Laurel took out with her canary cry and he made sure that the guy was knocked out.  The police arrested Moreau and they left right the way they came in and went back to the cave.

"Felicity, Diggle, Roy, movie, my treat," Sara said as she hurried them out of the foundry so they could leave Laurel and Oliver alone.  "Don't kill each other." She said as she closed the Foundry and let the two of them together.

"Are you gonna talk to me about what happened tonight?" Oliver asked her as he stood on one end and she sat in a chair opposite him. 

She shook her head. "Not really no." 

"Well, I do," He told her, more sternly.  "You were distracted tonight.  You could have gotten yourself killed." 

She sighed.  "Ollie, it's handled. I'm not dead. Okay? I'm standing right here with you, very much alive." She told him as she shuffled some paperwork and looked anywhere but him. 

"What the hell is wrong with you? You act like you don't care about your own life. Now alcoholic Laurel who had to deal with the fact that she might be more damaged than she thought might have had that disregard for her life, but not you." He yelled as he slammed his fist on the table.

She groaned. She hated him when he got on his high horse like this.  "Believe it or not, I wasn't disregarding my life. And you need to stop bringing it up." She said as she sat down and held her head in her hands, fighting with him did not make this decision easier. 

"What are you hiding, Laurel?" He asked in a quiet voice.

Loud failed so now he tried something different. She spun the chair around and looked him in the eye. She sighed. "I got a job offer from the Governor. Policy director."

"You got a job offer?" He asked her.  "That's great news. You love working for the city. And this could mean you could affect real change, right?" His eyes searched hers for what was wrong, because he truly couldn't understand why this would bring her down. 

"It should be great news. This is everything I ever wanted. I could make a difference. I could be the governor's side and fight for the little guy. This should be the perfect job. I shouldn't even be thinking twice about this," She said as she covered her eyes with her hands and slid them down. 

Clearly, something about the whole thing bothered her.  "Should. That comes with a but normally," He said in an even voice. 

"It'd mean," She said as she took his hand in hers. "I'd have to give this up. Give us up." 

"What?" He asked. He almost couldn't believe she said it. This was keeping her. He was keeping her. She wanted this so badly that it made her stomach knot. He knew she wanted to affect change even before he'd gotten on that boat and gotten lost near China for five years. 

He absently rubbed the back of her hand and her lips turned up at the action. "Taking the position would mean that I move from Starling to the capital and it would mean, we couldn't be a thing anymore." She told him as she looked him in the eye. 

Her love for him never changed. Not in the years he knew her. She could be angry with him and she still loved him. She wished it wasn't that way. It would have made the job of deciding that much easier. Especially because the team was supportive if she wanted to leave them.  This job seemed like it was perfect. Fighting for the little guy, though, this job would make him an enemy in the public's eyes. "What do you want to do?" He asked. 

"You're gonna stay here. You're gonna fight the good fight. I know we haven't been in the best place the last couple of weeks, but I want to stay here with you." She told him. 

That surprised him. He didn't actually expect her to stay with him.  "Look, Laurel, I don't want you to regret this.  This is a really big opportunity for you."

She nodded to him. "It is.  But I want to stay." 

"If you're doing this because of me," He didn't know what to say to her. They were crazy for each other. They loved each other, but he knew that they were always going to have fights. "You know it might not last between us?" He asked her.

She looked in his eyes and took his hand and put it over her heart. "It's never gonna be the same without you. It beats because I know you." She told him.

That wasn't true. Her heart would beat without him. "You don't even know how long any of us have in this game. I could be dead tomorrow." He told her and even then he felt his resolve weakening. It felt pretty good to have someone who was fighting for him, with him, totally with him. 

She chuckled a little at him. "No one ever knows how long they have left. I'd rather spend the time I have with you." She told him.  "Besides, I'm making a difference right now." 

"So you're sure about this decision?" He asked her and looked into her bright twinkling amber eyes.  "I don't want you to pick me and then resent me down the road. I want this to be for you."

She nodded to him and laid her head on his chest.  She closed her eyes for a minute and sighed. "I love you, Oliver Jonas Queen. This is my decision. I made it. I'm sticking to it. It's not because of you.  You're just an extra perk. Besides, maybe I'll get out of law altogether and start helping the little guy in a very real way."

"Oh yeah?" He asked. He hadn't heard that she would do that. That marked a big change in her. Laurel loved law like humans needed air, water, and sustenance. 

She moved her head against his chest and smiled. "I'm think Queen Consolidated needs a new charity foundation." 

"I should take that up with Mom, but you'd be our first candidate if we did something like that." He told her as he cradled her head in his hands.  This was his girl. This was the girl that never gave up on him despite all odds. The girl that should have given up on him.  The girl that never stopped believing him, even when everyone else did. This was the girl he was in love. "You know, I love you too, right?" He asked her as he looked down at her.

She looked up at him. Her eyes looked up and sparkled at him. "Yeah?" She asked him as her face broke out into a grin.

"Yeah," He told her as he smiled back to her. "I cause you so much pain. I'm not good for you. I'm not good, period. But all I want to do is be with you for as long as I live, at least right now, because we don't know how long we have, that matters right?" He asked her. 

She grabbed his hand and held it with a determination in her eye and her lips turned up.  "It's all that matters," She told him.  "Let's go home," She said as she dragged him out of the cave.

"How much you wanna bet they're gonna think we had sex on the tables?" He asked her.

She cracked and laughed out loud. An undignified laugh that mussed her hair and reddened her cheeks and made her wheeze because she was out of breath. A laugh that would taste good on his tongue. He didn't joke with a great many people and when he did it felt important.

He picked a smile to put on his face too. "What, you don't think so?" He asked as they took the stairs and got out of the building.  He got in her car and she gave him the keys.

"I think they'll definitely ask you.  They all think I can't take that kind of joke." She said with a laugh and then she was sad.

He took her cheek in his hand and smiled at her. "Hey," He said, "They don't know you like I know you. They just need a little time with you. They all love you, they just need some time to adjust."

"Honestly, I'm surprised they let me on the team so easily. They all seem really welcoming." She said as she rested her cheek on the cool glass of the window.

He drove out of the employee lot and smile. "It's because I made them." 

She looked to him and smiled as she put her hand on top of his on the gearstick, a way of thanking him for making her feel welcome, for helping her make that decision she had to make tonight. 

They stopped in her parking lot in front of her building and he looked up to the windows. "So, we're here." He told her.

"We are here," She told him as she looked at her glove compartment and wondered how the night was going to end. She looked up to him and then down at her hands, once, twice, and then on the final time, she smiled. "Do you want to come in?" 

"I'd like nothing more," He said as he opened the door and watched her open the passenger door. She took her keys out of her pocket and allowed them in. 

He cooked dinner and she sat on the couch and waited for him.  This was exactly what she would have wanted the day before he got on that boat. She couldn't think about the other things that were gonna be a part of their lives, all she could think is how tiny their love was back then. 

He brought her dinner and she smiled as she shoveled it into her mouth and they watched some silly tv show about a superhero and his longtime friend/girlfriend.  

Eventually, their plates ended up on the coffee table and her eyelids drooped.  "Come here," He said as he opened his arms.  She settled on his chest and side and he wrapped around her.

After a few minutes, she looked up to him. "You know, we'd be more comfortable in the bed down the hall?" 

"You want me in your bed?" He asked.

Laurel took his hand and kissed his knuckles. "There is nowhere else I would rather have you. Not that I don't want to have you in many many places," She grinned.

That was the Laurel only he got to see and maybe Tommy. But definitely not Donner. Or her other boyfriends. And definitely not the team. It was just for those absolutely closet to her. "Come on," He said. "Let's go dream." 

"Let's dream." She nodded at him.


	22. Through Time Together (Everyday of Our Lives)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver hosts a huge party with all of his friends and acquaintances. Laurel knows that he's been distracted and when he brings her away from the party, she learns why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Through Time Together (Everyday of Our Lives)  
> Words: 2049  
> Pairing: Laurel/Oliver  
> Genre: Romance  
> Status: Done

"So, you and Oliver, how are you doing?" Felicity asked Laurel.

Laurel blushed, "We're doing okay. Why? Liss." She asked Felicity.  She wondered maybe if Oliver said something to Felicity about her. Maybe complained. She didn't know exactly what she would do if he had, but the thought was there and that was enough.

"Oh, just Oliver seemed weird today. I thought you might know." She told Laurel. 

Laurel let a sigh of relief.  He had said something last night when he was at his computer about being distracted by Arrow stuff. "He's fine. He's just worried about the status quo.  You know how it goes." She told the other girl.

"If you say so." Felicity couldn't believe he hadn't done it already, but she guessed he was looking for the right time.

Laurel narrowed her eyes at Felicity and stared her down.  Felicity began to fidget and sweat a little.  "You're keeping a secret, Liss. What does he have planned?" She asked.

Felicity looked around for someone anyone to rescue her.  No one came. "It's nothing bad, I promise, Laur. But it's his secret. I can't tell," She told the other girl and screwed her eyes shut. 

When she didn't hear anything from Laurel, she opened one up and looked.  Laurel hadn't left and she had a stern expression on her face which made it really hard to tell what she was thinking.  "Why'd he tell you?" She asked.

Felicity debated about lying. She could pretty easily. It didn't have to be like an Oliver epic lie, but it would be a little one.  In the end, she thought better of it and sighed. "He wanted my opinion on something.  Don't worry, it's nothing bad. I promise, I really promise." 

"You'd tell me if it was bad right?" She asked.

Felicity hugged her.  When it came to Oliver, Laurel always opened her heart in a way that he didn't deserve. She always opened it to the heartbreak that he could bring. It was heroic, a little stupid, but heroic all the same. With that in mind, she nodded her head against her best friend's shoulder. "I'd never keep it if it hurt you." 

Laurel pulled her friend away and smiled to her.  "Then, I guess, I have nothing to worry about. When do you think he'll tell me?" She asked.

Felicity looked over her shoulder and saw Oliver with the ringbox in his hand.  Bold move. "Oh," Felicity said to her friend, "I think it'll be soon. Tonight even." 

"Well then," Laurel said as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and her cheeks glowed. She smoothed over the stomach of her beautiful red evening gown. 

Quentin came over.  "Can I have this dance, princess?" He asked as he put out his hand. 

"Yeah," Laurel put her hand in his and looked back to Felicity. "Are you gonna be okay?" 

Felicity nodded, "Yeah, I'm gonna hit the punch bowl," 

"Don't drink too much," Laurel said as her father whisked her onto the dancefloor. "It's been awhile since we've done this." 

"Yeah," He said as he looked down at his feet and then back up to her feet, "That's a nice necklace,"

She smiled as she took her right hand from his and fingered it with a blush.  "Ollie got it for me." She told him and smiled as they waltzed around the room. 

"You guys have been getting pretty close in the past couple of months," Quentin said as he looked her in the eye.

She rolled her eyes at him.  "Daddy, we've been dating the last couple of months, we've always been close,"

"Right," He said as he smiled awkwardly, "Look, I know I've never been Oliver Queen's biggest supporter, but you seem really happy the last couple of months and that's what I need. Come along way from the bonehead frat boy who took your sister on that boat," He told her.  "You know, all I want is for you to be happy."

She nodded as the dance finished and they stood in place.  "Is that the sound of support coming from you about Oliver Queen?" She asked him.

"Yes," He sighed, "But after tonight, I will vehemently deny I said anything of the sort. Understand?"

She giggled a little and looked to Oliver. "Got it, you want to tell him one time?" She asked Quentin as Oliver came over and put his hand on the small of her back.

"Mr. Lance," He said as he nodded lightly to Laurel's father.

Quentin rolled his eyes. "It hasn't been Mr. Lance to you in years, Queen. You make my little girl happy.  You keep doing that or I'll kill you," He said.

Oliver laughed a little, nervous, because his girlfriend's father was threatening to kill him.  This normally wouldn't bother him because she always assumed that was his way of showing affection. But he had prefaced it with affection and that always made him feel a little more dangerous. "Laurel, I have something important to ask you," He whispered in her ear. "Can we go somewhere a little more private?" He asked.

"Yeah," Laurel said. "Are you gonna be okay, dad?" She asked to make sure that he wasn't going to feel left out when she left him.

He guffawed and looked around the room. "I think I'm gonna see how Felicity dances. Maybe give you and Sara some competition." He joked.

She shook her head. "No one beats Sara," She told him because Sara was still a lithe dancer.  That time on the island hadn't taken that away from her. It just made her stronger and gave her more range. Oddly enough, the island helped with her dance, when she wasn't dancing.

Oliver lead the way and smiled to her.  He took her into a room that was pretty empty.  "You remember this room?" He asked.

She smiled. She never forgot this room, not for one second. "This is where it all began, you and me.  We started in this room." She looked to him.  "What's going on?"

"Laurel," He started. "So this is where we started, where it all began as you put it and since that fateful day more than fifteen years ago, we have been fast friends and more.

"You brought a great joy into my life that was quiet unlike any others I have known.  It was you, me, and Tommy from the moment you stepped in here and you made me better every single one of those days I've known you.

"You were the light that got my off the worst hell I have ever faced. It was the thought of you that kept me going. Five years of dreaming about your voice. About eating ice cream in your apartment with you. Of saying I'm sorry, because I am a perpetual idiot.

"Back then, I didn't know how much I loved you, but then I came back and seeing you, even when you were angry, it lit up my life. We've had some rough patches. And we're always gonna, but you brought me back.  You, Laurel, I love you more than anything. I love you as long as there are stars in the sky and if the universe will let me, I will love you even longer than that.

"I have never been the same since I met you.  You came in my life and it's one big event. The boy I was before you.  And then the Man I am after I met you. And when I'm not with you, I'm worse. I need you, Dinah Laurel Lance. 

"No one else is you. I dated a lot of women in my time. And they have always been compared to you, because I have always wanted you, Laurel.  You, Laurel Lance, are the one I desire. No one else compares to you.  Dinah Laurel Lance, will you give me the chance to show you that everyday for the rest of our lives?" He asked as he got down on one knee.

"Are you doing what I think you're doing?" She asked as her eyes got big.

He smiled to her and opened the tiffany blue box and looked into her eyes, "Dinah Laurel Lance, will you marry me?" The sparkle in his eyes told her that this was all true.

She jumped up and down and showed him her hand.  "Yes, Oliver Jonas Queen, I will marry you," She said as he put the ring on her finger and she put her arms around his neck. "We're getting married." 

"We are getting married, Dinah Laurel Lance. And I promise you, I will hold you for as long as I can. I thought your father was going to give it all up when you guys were dancing, I'm glad he didn't." He told her.

She looked shocked.  He asked her father who had approved of the whole thing and that was why he said something. He said it for her. He accepted Oliver as her one and only.  "It's shaping up to be a pretty good marriage, already," She said as she gave him a kiss on the nose.

"I'm gonna give you everything, Laurel Queen," He told her as he did the same. 

She shook her head. "You know I'm keeping my last name, right?" She asked him.

He nodded. "I know, but you're always gonna be Mrs. Queen to me." 

"That," She told him with a smile as they got out of the room. "I can handle. Hell, I think I even might like that Mr. Queen." She told him as she kissed him again.  "So who's idea was that? Bringing me back here?" 

"That one was mine," He said, looking a little miffed that she thought it was someone else's idea. Truth be told, he'd gotten Sara and Felicity's approval on the whole idea, because it seemed dumb, but they both assured him that it was super romantic. "Do you like your ring?" He asked.

"Ollie, I love it," She said as she looked at the big happy rock on her finger.  "And I love you, Oliver." She promised him.

"Together forever," He breathed. "That's what it's gonna be right?" 

Laurel nodded because that is what it was. It was always gonna be them. There was no other way.  "Together forever," She replied. 

They went out to the party and grinned at all of the guests who seemed so happy to be around them. She guessed they just exuded the kind of light airiness that people saw and gravitated to. 

They took to the center of the room and she took a champagne flute and a fork and she banged the fork against the champagne flute.  Everyone looked to the both of them.  As everyone was all eyes, she looked to Oliver and smiled. "Mr. Queen and I have a long history and I'm sure a bunch of you have had opinions on that.  We have always been together, Me and Oliver. And I'm sure you all know, we have been dating for the past few months once again and we have been strong together," She told them and she looked to Felicity and her father and she couldn't help but smile bigger.  "Well, we've made it more official. Mr. Queen and I, we're engaged." 

The news went from a quiet room to a room glittering with excitement and the flashes went off and there were microphones trying to get all the information, get the headline. Starling Royalty was finally getting married. 

Moira and Thea came out from behind them. "We're so proud of you, Ollie." They told her and hugged him.

Ollie shook his head. "I didn't do anything, it was all this one," He said as he brought Laurel into the conversation.

"We love you," Thea and Moira told her as they took her in yet another hug and kissed her cheeks.  "We can't wait for you to come into the family." They said as they milled about the party.

Oliver and Laurel looked to each other. "I love you," Oliver said. "Always and forever," 

Laurel scrunched her nose happily and smiled as she gave him a peck on the lips, "I love you too." She said.  "As long as there are stars, we're together." 

 


	23. Under Pressure, Precious Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Diggle get close to a pregnant Laurel in the five months that Oliver's gone from Starling. They decide enough is enough and bring him back with the help of a sonogram.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Under Pressure, Precious Things   
> Words: 2843  
> Genre: Romance/Comfort  
> Pairings: Felicity/Diggle, Laurel/Oliver  
> Status: Done

Laurel got out of bed and winced at her back pain.  She slipped on her slippers and went to the kitchen to the take the prenatal vitamins she took everyday.  Everything about this hurt. She was tired. Going back to work was hard. Well, it was getting hard. It hadn't been when she was a month in. She worked around the morning sickness and just didn't go into court, rather letting someone else do that for her. 

The phone rang. She picked it up, "Hello," She said, groggily.

"Are you okay? You sound tired.  I mean not that that wouldn't be okay. You're pregnant. You have a right to be tired.  You just sound tired." Felicity babbled into the speaker.

Laurel nodded and filled her Keurig with the requisite amount of water before she sighed, "That is because I am tired. I am very tired. I didn't sleep well because my back hurt. And I don't have my coffee in me yet," She told Felicity.

"Are you sure you should be drinking coffee? I mean there have been studies showing that caffeine could lead to a preterm birth and that the baby might have a heart rate and breathe rate faster than normal. It also has a whole load of other complications for you and the baby. The research suggest that you should kick the habit till you stop breastfeeding," Felicity said.

"Felicity, do you want to deal with me when I haven't had my coffee and barely slept?" Laurel asked her and for a minute the other side of the phone went silent.  This told her all she needed to know. "Now, why are you calling me before coffee? I thought we had an agreement?" 

"Oh, yeah," Felicity said as she gathered her wits about her again, thinking about Laurel without Coffee was one of Felicity's nightmares. Laurel was many things, but without her coffee, all she was, was a bear. She looked into her car mirror and turned. "Do you want me to take you to your appointment today? You said that it was pretty painful on your back to drive last week." 

Laurel looked at the picture of Ollie on her counter and sighed. "Yeah, I mean I would normally ask him to do it, but he's not here." 

"He's gonna come back, babe," Felicity told her with a fierceness that she hadn't counted on.

Laurel still doubted that he'd come back. Their whole world fell to pieces because Tommy died. He left right after the funeral.  She still remembered telling him that she had something to tell him and he asked her if it could wait and she said yes.  The stupidest decision of her life. "I don't know, he seems pretty comfortable wherever he is." 

"Well, I'm gonna take you to the doctor this afternoon and you're not gonna worry about Oliver right?" Felicity asked as she parked the car and wondered how she got here. How she was taking care of Laurel and the baby, when Oliver should have been the one to do it.

Laurel nodded into the phone.  "Yeah, I'm not gonna worry.  I'll see you at two?" She asked.

"See you at two," Felicity said and ended the call. She got out of the car and went into the little bookshop that she and John used for their meetings. 

Diggle smiled as he saw her come in.  He looked through the books when she was late.  "So how is she?" He asked.

"She's coping, but you know, she misses him."  She told Diggle.

Diggle nodded. Laurel, five months pregnant with Eleanor Morgan Lance-Queen, missed Oliver. She shouldn't have to. He should have been a man and in this kid's life. "I was thinking about that this morning." He stated to her.

"Yeah?" She asked.

He nodded. "We should go get him." 

"You want to go get him?" 

"I do, Felicity. What do you think?" He asked her because he needed her in this plan. He could beat Oliver up and drag him back, but more often than not, she had a better way.

Felicity looked at the books and felt their spines, soft and yet hard underneath her fingertips. "I think he bailed on her before she got the chance to talk to him. He's selfish, Digg. He just left her alone. To deal with everything." 

"You want Eleanor to have her father though?" He asked.

She snapped her head to him and narrowed her eyes. "Of course, Digg. I want Eleanor to have everything. I want Eleanor to not have to deal with the fact that he left her before he even knew her. I don't want that to be her life." Felicity said as tears rolled down her face. Being abandoned was one thing when you were old enough to realize that you were being left, but to realize that they didn't even give you a chance, that was unthinkable.

John Diggle put his hand on her shoulder, "We should go get him then," 

Felicity sighed. He was right. "Then we'll go get him," She said.

"Hey," He said as he tilted her chin to look into his eyes, "We'll make sure she knows she's loved, okay? All you need to do is make sure Laurel's taken care of when we're gone." 

She nodded to him and looked at the books one more time. She threw herself into those when she realized her own father wasn't coming back. "Right," She said. "I should go then.  She needs me." 

He let her go and she drove to Laurel's apartment and to find Laurel stood on the street waiting for her. "Hey, pretty lady," Felicity smiled to her.

Laurel rolled her eyes. "I'm a whale," She said, flatly.

"But you're a beautiful whale. Seriously, you're glowing with life." 

Laurel looked ahead, "Well, it's certainly easier to believe that now that I'm not literally puking my guts up at every opportunity." 

"Past the morning sickness? That's good." Felicity said as she turned out of the parking lot and to Starling General. 

Laurel put her hands on her belly and rubbed it. "She's starting to move. I always thought I'd be excited for that, but it's different because I can't share that with him," She told Felicity.

Felicity smiled sadly, not exactly sure what to say. She couldn't tell Laurel they were going to get him. That would make a lot of questions that she didn't want to explain to Laurel right now. "Have hope, I think your luck on that one is changing," She told her confidently.

"You always say that," Laurel pointed out.

"I do," Felicity agreed, "But I actually mean that. I can feel it. Something in the air. I can see good things are going to happen to you."

"I thought you hated mumbo jumbo like that?" Laurel asked, skeptical at Felicity.

Felicity just shrugged. "Sometimes it's just good to believe," 

Laurel's appointment went swimmingly and Felicity smiled when Eleanor got a clean bill of health and the doctor admired her movements. Felicity even got to feel her kick. 

Laurel smoothed her shirt over her belly and looked at the painkillers the doctor gave her for her back. They weren't really anything special, but it was something to focus on that didn't mean talking about the baby or Oliver. Which is what she did a lot with Felicity.  

They got back in the car. Laurel buckled up and looked at Felicity who hadn't. "Are you okay?" Laurel asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Felicity said.  "I just I need to tell you something."

Laurel nodded. "Felicity you're kind of freaking me out a little," 

"Sorry," Felicity apologized.  Her cheeks flushed as she looked to Laurel and started, "So John's brother, he got killed in iraq and Carly wants to visit the plot they gave him among heros in DC. But he doesn't want to go alone. Because him and Carly are kind of weird. So I need to go with him. We're only gonna be there a couple of days, but I thought, you should know." 

"Oh, well, you guys should have fun." Laurel said with a smile. "Seriously, he should see his brother. If there is one thing I know, it's how much a grave helps. How much talking to it helps," She said. She buried too many people. Robert. Oliver. Tommy. Sara. She talked to all of them at one point. She talked to Tommy a lot now. Especially about the baby.

Felicity smiled. She wished Laurel knew how strong she was. She still managed to smile after all that death. "Let's get you some fro-yo, you deserve it and I promise, I will get someone to help drive you around." 

Felicity and Diggle took a plane to China, only to take a smaller plane to Lian Yu. God, the place was a hellhole and they were probably the first people in a long time to willingly step on it in a long while. 

And then of course, there was the landmine which Oliver saved her from but after that when he took them to the carved out airplane he seemed like he wasn't really in the mood to talk or see them and that pissed her off. "Could you at least pretend like you're glad to see us?" Felicity asked him. "Digg and I spent weeks tracking you down. We traveled half across the world. And this morning, we flew in a plane so old, that I actually think I was safer, once I jumped out of it. So you could, at least, offer us a water. Or coconut." 

"Fresh out of coconuts," He said as he slipped a canteen into her hand and nodded. "And I am happy to see you. But I know why you're here. I'm not coming back to Starling City." Diggle looked at Felicity like do you want to tell him or should I beat him and just get it over with?  And then Oliver kept on. "I can't. My mission. My father's list. It was a fool's crusade and I failed. Malcolm Merlyn destroyed the glades. Tommy died. And the hood couldn't stop it. So don't ask me to put it on again. Ever." 

"This isn't about you being the vigilante. This is about you being Oliver Queen," Diggle said and Felicity smiled to him. There was so much truth to that statement. The hood, he was a nice guy to the city, but there was so much else that needed him as Oliver Queen. "Your mother's in prison, her trial's coming up. Thea's out on her own. Your family needs you." 

"So does the family business," Felicity explained to him. There was a lot her didn't know. There was a lot he needed to come back home for. These were not all of the reasons. 

Diggle saw he still wasn't convinced. "Look, I understand why you had to leave, probably better than anyone. I've been there. After what happened, no one can blame you for leaving, but it's time to come home," He said and gave a sigh.  "And if none of that convinces you, well, then the picture felicity is holding might." 

Oliver looked over to her and she took the picture out of her back pocket and gave it to him. "What's this?" 

"That is a baby." She said to him. "That is little Eleanor Morgan Lance-Queen," 

He looked up from the picture, "What?" 

"Laurel's pregnant." She told him. 

He smiled to the picture. "This....is my baby?" He asked her.

"Yep, she's super cute already.  Now, will you come home?" She pleaded with him. 

He looked up from the photograph, he couldn't stop looking at it now. "Yes," He told her.  "Let's go home. And I will make sure that you keep your job." It was the least he could do after he realized he had a baby.  A little baby girl that needed him. 

They got back to China, picked up their bags and went back to Starling City in the Queen Jet. Well, the wealthy really did travel differently, Felicity thought as she put her bag on the plane and sat down on the couch. 

"Thank you," Oliver said to no one in particular as they took off and Felicity and Diggle looked at each other, a little confused. He saw them and laughed a little. "You guys kept her safe in the way that I couldn't in the last months. Thank you for that. Also thank you for bringing me back out of the dark." 

Felicity shook her head. "We didn't bring you out of the dark. You did that yourself. Laurel and that baby just gave you hope," She said to him. 

They got off the plane and Felicity called Laurel, "Hey, Digg and I got you a present, can we come over for a while?" 

Laurel stirred her coffee and smiled, "Yeah, come on over. I was just getting ready to sit down and read awful parenting books, so thank you for giving me an out." 

"Perfect, we'll be there in about twenty." Felicity said.

"Sounds good," Laurel said, "See you soon." 

They piled into Felicity's car and drove to Laurel's complex where they unlocked the door with the key that Felicity had been given. "You've spent quite a lot of time here," Oliver noted.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I mean Laurel gives her key out to strangers." Felicity made a funny face and laughed a little. 

They took the elevator up and went down the hallway to the left where Laurel's door stood at the the end. Oliver stood at the edge of the hallways so she wouldn't see him before they wanted to and Felicity rang the bell.

Laurel opened the door and smiled to them. She took her headphones out and pressed pause on the music that both she and the baby were listening to via a Ritmo Baby belt. "Hey, guys, how was DC?" She asked. 

Felicity looked back and that was Oliver's signal to sneak in with them. "It was good," Felicity said, "But the plane ride was ridiculous, you think you could show me what you have to drink?" 

She nodded and Diggle tapped the door, and Oliver snuck in.

"So what'd you get me?" Laurel asked with an animated face. She was adorable. And probably a little tired of only getting stuff for the baby.

Felicity pulled out a replica of the constitution and the declaration of independence for her and smiled, "These two are the souvenir things we got you from DC, but we also got you a surprise." Felicity said.

"These are great. They look great, Felicity, seriously, you didn't have to go through all that trouble to get me this." She told her as she hugged Felicity.

She'd closed her eyes when she went to hug Felicity, and everything was exactly as it had been for the last five months. the three of them, trying to get ready for Eleanor. "Yes, she did, because you are the most incredible person in the universe. And you deserve the very best." He told her.

"Oliver?" She asked, a little excited and out of breathe.  "Is that you?" She asked as she hugged him.

He nodded into her shoulder. "It's me. I'm home." 

"Like Felicity said, we found a little surprise in DC." Diggle said.

Laurel looked to him and smiled. "Thank you, guys." She said.

"We should go. You two have a lot to talk about," Felicity said as she pulled Diggle out of the apartment. "We need to open a matchmaking business." 

"You know," Diggle said, taking her into his arms, "I think you just might be right. I mean we got those two idiots together. That's the biggest hurdle, done." 

Meanwhile in Laurel's apartment, she looked at Oliver. "So I'm pregnant." She said as if it wasn't obvious.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't there for you from the very beginning." He told her as he looked down at his feet.

Laurel cupped his cheek. "Let's not live in the past. All I need is for you to be here now. For me. And for Eleanor." She said as she put a hand of his on her belly and watched him in amazement as she kicked. If he thought he fell in love with the picture, actually feeling her sealed it.

"I love you, Laurel." He said as he kissed her. 

She smiled. "I love you too. I'm just so happy you came back." She cried. In all of the times she thought about what would happen, she never thought he'd come back to her. 

"I'm never leaving again." He promised and sealed that with a kiss. He truly couldn't see himself leaving again. He created life, despite all of the destruction he created and fostering that, maybe that was what he should have learned from his father's mission, that it was better to create good in this world than bad. And Eleanor was the epitome of the good he could make in this world. 


	24. Walk Through the Storm (I Would)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver skips out on his mother's funeral and Laurel calls him out on the self destruction he seems so keen on. Through it all, Oliver realizes that Sara might have had a point whens he was talking about "someone who can harness the light"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Walk Through the Storm (I would)  
> Words: 2644  
> Genre: Romance/Action  
> Pairing: Laurel/Oliver  
> Status: Done.

"You know, you make a habit out of missing funerals," Her voice sounded in the cave and he looked up, Laurel.

He smiled a little. "Sorry, I just had a lot to do." 

"Thea gave a beautiful eulogy. You should have been there. She loved you. She died for you." She said as she sat by him.

He felt bad for leaving Thea alone, but she wasn't really alone. She had Laurel who had known heartbreak more than any of them. "I just, I don't want her sacrifice to be in vain.  It seems like more a slight to her memory to not do anything." 

Laurel took his cheek in her hand and made him look into her eyes and. He held them for a moment before he broke down and wept on her shoulder. He lost both of his parents, and he witnessed both of their losses. It didn't feel right. It wasn't fair. 

She held him and let him deal with his emotions. Tommy always said the three of them were gonna have each other's back and that they held so much in, until they couldn't and they needed each other.  He needed her now. She stroked his hair and tears rolled down her cheeks. 

He pushed away from her.  "Why are you here?" He asked her.  She knew this game way too well. She'd play it many times and mastered the art of pushing people away and she wasn't going to let him push her away. There was no way.

"Because you need me.  And I need you." She said as she clasped his wrists in her hands and held his hands to her face so that he could feel blood beating beneath the skin. So he could know she was real.

He took his hands away from her face and leaned his head on her shoulder, exhausted. He dealt with grief in weird ways and she accepted that. "You shouldn't love me. All it does is provide people a trip to the morgue." 

She snorted.  "Funny joke, but you're not getting rid of me, Ollie. I know you and I love you through everything."

"I have fucked it up so long with you. I screwed other girls while we were together back then. I got one pregnant. I screwed your sister. I was scared of being in love with you. I wasn't a good boyfriend even when I wasn't screwing other girls." He said as he tried again to push her away.  Didn't she see that he was bad for everyone? Why didn't she see that? Why wouldn't she just leave him?  Didn't she see he was trying to save her?

Laurel looked him straight in the eye and slapped him across the cheek.  "Oww!" He said.  "Why the fuck did you do that?" He yelled.

"Because, Oliver Jonas Queen, you are my best friend.  I love you. I love you without conditions and you are trying to push me away.  I have been to your funeral. You are trying to make yourself feel worse about this whole situation and I've about had enough of it. I understand grieving, but I am not going to let you feel sorry for yourself and wreck your life because of it." She told him with a fierceness in her eyes that demanded his submission to her words.  "We have always said we would look out for each other. I'm not letting you push me away, now do you want to say something?" 

He hugged her.  "My life would be less without you," He told her.

She nodded and smiled. "I know it would, Ollie. You need someone who can call you out on your bullshit." 

"I still need to find Slade." He said as he looked back at the computers.

She took his hand and kissed the knuckles.  "Then we'll find him. Together." She insisted and he didn't hate the idea. 

Felicity found them like that, holding hands and working on the computer, trying to find any trace of Slade Wilson's weakness and she smiled a little. She almost went back up the stairs because it was clear that Oliver was in a good place and she didn't want to ruin that. But Slade.  They needed to catch Slade, so despite the option that it might upset him, she coughed to announce her presence.

Laurel took her hand away from his and looked him in the eye to make sure he knew it wasn't forever.  She walked over to Felicity and smiled. "How was the rest of the day?" Laurel asked as she brought Felicity over to the computers and set her down. 

"Oh, you know, the usual. Mrs. Queen was a good boss when she was my boss and I actually liked her a lot. Even if I didn't trust her. People were sad, but mostly, they just thanked her for helping them keep their jobs. It's kinda sweet," She told Laurel as she blushed. "So how far are we in this?" 

"Not very," Oliver said, frustrated by the lack of progress. "I mean we don't have long.  The city is ripe for the taking." He said as he put his head on the desk and huffed.

Laurel combed her fingers through his hair and closed his eyes and nearly purred as she tapped a couple more things on the screen, trying to find something.  There was nothing really of value she could see from what they knew about Slade Wilson. 

Felicity looked through the files they were going through and noticed something subtle that seemed out of place.  "You guys may have found a thing. It looks like we have an uptick with the amount that Slade is paying for gas in the past couple of weeks. We might have a location. Let me look at traffic cams and see if I can get anything." 

Laurel nodded and Oliver's stomach grumbled. "How long has it been since you've eaten anything?" She asked him.

He shrugged. He never really felt like eating and when he did eat, it was only because he needed to and not because he wanted to. "About two days? I think? I don't know. I don't remember eating in the last couple of days."

"Yeah, no," She said as she stood up and took him by the hand. "We're getting you something to eat and we're getting it now while Felicity looks through the traffic cams, okay?" She asked him gently.

He took her hand and nodded. "You're gonna be okay? We're not like overburdening you by leaving?" Oliver asked Felicity.

"Please, you don't do overburdened. You sort of take that all on your own, it's like you're a girl under the weight of her boyfriend. Not that, it's sexual, just that it can be heavy and hard on you." Felicity said as she flinched at her brain, "I'm gonna stop now. Go. Seriously. Eat. You need food so that you can fight the bad guys which is a thing that you love to do." 

Laurel giggled and she blushed.  "Come on," She told Oliver as they headed for the door.

They headed up the stairs and out the emergency exit and got into her car. She drove them to big belly and ordered food for the both of them without so much as a word.

When they sat down with their food, he shoveled some of the food into his mouth and grinned to her and she turned her lips up at him back. Her lightness, he hadn't seen that in a long time, and it brought him back to the night everything happened.   _"You deserve someone who can harness the light inside you."_ Maybe Sara had something there. 

"I'm sorry for how I acted earlier," He broke the silence.

Laurel put her index finger on his mouth. "I don't need an apology. We figured it out. Together." She told him.

That was certainly a way of thinking about it, but he still wanted to apologize to her.  "No, Laurel, I treated you horribly and you didn't deserve it. I tried to push you away." 

"You don't get it," Laurel said with a true smile on her face.  He looked confused and just sat there.  She gave him a comforting look and kept on. "I love you. I love the good parts and the bad parts. And I knew coming in that you would want to shove me away. You and Tommy were very predictable that way after tragedy. I would walk through hell and back for you.  So one bad day? That's child's play." She told him.

He clutched her wrist in his hand and kissed the palm of hers.  "You don't know how much you mean to me." 

"I think I have a pretty good idea," She told him as she leaned across the table and gave him a peck on the lips.  

Oliver felt the butterflies in his stomach and couldn't believe it. Her love. He didn't think he could find himself out of this funk. It had taken Felicity and Diggle dragging him back to get over Tommy. It took five years to get over his father. And it took, only one Laurel Lance to help him see that there was a light that he hadn't been seeing since the death of his mother. "How did you get so smart?" 

"I went to law school," She joked and grinned widely, ear to ear as she put some more food in her mouth. 

He laughed, out loud and in the face of everything, he laughed."You are something else," He told her. His phone rang and he saw that it was Diggle. He took it and looked to Laurel occasionally to make sure she was doing okay. "We have to go," 

She asked for some bags so they could take the rest with them and they provided her with them, gleefully.  Oliver put the food in the bags and they left Big Belly and went back to the foundry. This time, Oliver drove because he felt better.

Felicity saw them and sighed a deep relief sigh.  "So we have a major advantage but you two need to go like right now." She told them as she pushed them out the door again and went to her computer.  "So now, you're in the car which is good, because you guys are going to go to the botanical gardens to get a thing.  It's gonna look sort of phallic shaped to be honest.  It's also going to look like one. It's like a pale pink. Sorry," 

"What does this have to do with Slade?" Oliver asked through gritted teeth.

Laurel put her hand over his and he looked to her and breathed out.  He was okay.  Felicity smiled. "Well, you know those hallucinations he was having thanks to the mirakuru.  This plant which happens to be in the Starling City botanical gardens has been proven to force him out of psychosis.  It's not gonna be for very long, but it might be long enough for you to give him the cure and to not kill." 

"Felicity, how'd you figure this out?" Laurel asked her.

Felicity smiled into the phone.  "So you know those pings I was talking about earlier? The subtle pattern? He's been foraging for this plant. Apparently he wants to destroy it and has been trying to pay people who have it to destroy it. Thankfully, I only just realized that it was at the botanical gardens. So go now," 

"We are," Laurel smirked and switched off the phone. "So how do you feel, doing arrow stuff with me?" 

He looked over to her and smiled. "Ask me when we're done." 

They parked the car in the botanical garden's parking lot and heard the locks click unlocked. "Thank you, Felicity." Laurel said.

"Just get in there," She worried.  They could practically hear the pacing.

The place was quiet with an overly sweet smell of the flowers.  They looked for the phallus flower that Felicity had told them was going to be here, but they didn't see it. 

They were about to give up on the whole thing, when Oliver saw a tiny pink speck among a bunch of red roses.  "Are you okay?" Laurel asked when she saw that he was looking at something.

"Yeah," He said, distracted, "I think they're over there." 

He pushed the roses aside and saw these phallus shaped flowers.  "Yeah, you did good, babe," Laurel cooed. 

Glass shattered and Oliver picked some of the flowers and took her hand and ran to the front door. He pushed her through, "Felicity, lock the doors. Now." 

"Did you get the flowers?" Felicity asked.

Oliver huffed. "Yes, now I need you to lock the guy in, so that we can bring them to you to synthesize down to their essential oils so that we can get him, okay?" 

The doors locked and they went to the foundry as fast as they could. Laurel and Oliver stood close and Felicity had glee in her eyes.  "You got my flowers?" 

Oliver just handed them to her.  "So are we done?" He asked.

"Yeah, you guys aren't gonna be able to have these for a couple of days." She told them as she went over to her side of the lab and put them on a table and started chopping them up and put one piece under a microscope so could study.  "Seriously, you're not gonna get any more work done tonight. Go home." She told him.

He looked at Laurel, "We should take you home." 

"I am home. I'm with you." She said as put an arm around his waist.

He sighed.  "Well, then we should take you to your apartment to rest." 

"Oh, no, I have something in mind for you," She told him. "Come with me." 

He followed her out to the car and she got in the driver seat and started driving.  He tried to ask many times where they were going, but she refused to answer that. Insisted on surprise. 

When they stopped, he realized why.  "We shouldn't be here." 

"You're gonna have to get it done, sooner or later." She held his hand and didn't get out of the car till he sighed and stepped out of the car.  

They walked up to the door and for a second she thought he might run the other way, but he put the key in the lock and found the place quiet, too quiet. "Laurel," He said. "I don't want to stay here. It's quiet." 

"Well, then, why don't we go back to my apartment? Make you feel a little bit more at home." She asked him. 

He nodded and they made their way to her apartment. She turned on the overhead and he sat on the couch as she made them some coffee.  They sat in comfortable silence.  "Laurel?" He asked.

"Hmmm?" She was sleepy.

He pressed a kiss to her head. "Thank you for today." 

"It's not even an issue. I love you," She yawned.

He picked her up bridal style and took her down the hall and put her in the bed as he stripped down to his underwear and got into.  "Is this okay? I don't want to wake up without you." 

She nodded. "Of course, I don't really want to wake up with you either." 

"You know Felicity thinks we're dating?" 

Laurel shrugged.  "So what if she does? Does it bother you?" 

"Nope," He stated and he wrapped her up in his arms. "To be honest, I sort of want to do it again." 

She shushed him and closed her eyes. "Let's talk about that in the morning." 

"You know I love you too, right?" He asked.

She smiled and kept her eyes closed as she stroked her thumb across the edge of his hand. "I do," 


	25. Hold On (To All She Had Left of Him)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel and Oliver got married before the boat trip. Laurel goes to his funeral and curses his name and moves on with her life. Five years after, he comes back, and sees her and she has to deal with the fallout.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Hold On (To All She Had Left Of Him)  
> Words: 3145  
> Genre: Tragedy/Comfort  
> Pairing: Laurel/Oliver  
> Status: Done-ish.

"We're gonna have a life together," He said as he kissed her.

She smiled. "I just wish we didn't have to wait till after the boat trip to tell everyone."

"Dad has had this planned for weeks. And I thought it'd be a good opportunity." He told her as he looked in her eyes. "It's the last time I want to leave you." 

She nodded. She had finals. She couldn't go with him. Law School came soon and he was going to be back and show her the world. "Well, don't get into too much trouble."

"I promise," He told her, "I won't"

She looked down at the big ring on her finger and smiled. She didn't get to wear it very often, because people would ask and they didn't want people to know yet.  "I'm gonna miss you so much," She frowned

"Hey," He cajoled. "It's only gonna be a little while longer and then we can tell the whole world about it. But for now, I just want to enjoy being married to you. And we'd be barraged with questions if we came out now." 

She weakly smiled. He was right. Her father didn't approve. Her mother thought he was nice, if a little out of his own headspace.  His father loved her and his mother seemed to like her, but they were going out for a year or two and got married young. People would ask questions. "You're right. I love you." 

"I should go," He said and pouted. "Early day tomorrow." 

She slinked out of bed and stood up. He gave her a hug and she cried a little. "God, this better be the last trip you take for a while, Mister." 

"Stop thinking about tomorrow," He chuckled as he gave her one last kiss.  "And it is. Last trip. And I'll be back before you know it." He said as he opened the door and closed it quietly. When he did, Laurel got the marriage certificate out of her drawer and looked at that. They were legally married.

Sara opened her door and nodded to him and he nodded back. This was it. He was having his last fun with her on the boat and then it was over. This time, really over. He'd done a lot of things to Laurel in the past that she didn't deserve, but this was the end of his rope. He was going to be a good man for her after he came home. He was gonna be a proper husband. 

A week later, Quentin made dinner in their kitchen while he watched the game on the little TV they kept in the kitchen.  "Come on," Quentin yelled at the TV, "Gotta buy a ticket if you're gonna play like that." 

Laurel came over and leaned on the counter, a glum look on her face as she faced the TV. 

"Hey, kiddo, how's the apartment hunt going?" He asked. He didn't want her to move out an they both knew it, but he at least took an interest in the situation.

"Terribly," Laurel said as she turned down the TV, so he could hear her talk as he took a pan to sink and started cleaning it there. "I really wanted to find the perfect place to show Ollie when he came back from his boat trip." She said with a pleading in her voice, not to him, but to the universe for the both of them. "Everything good was already taken by the time I walked in the door." She said as she fiddled with the rag in her hands.

"Maybe it's a sign you're not supposed to move in with the frat boy you call a boyfriend," He remarked.

Laurel bit her tongue because Oliver wasn't back and she wanted to tell her father with him, but damn if she hadn't thought about just shoving it in his face  _he's my husband._ Still, she smiled to him and dried the pan he just washed.  "You and mom were my age when you moved into that place on Spring Street. You weren't even engaged yet."

"Well, that's because your mother kept turning down all my proposals," Quentin told her and gave her a plate to dry.

This came as a shock to Laurel.  Her mother hadn't wanted to get married?  "She did?"  Laurel said with the biggest smile she could muster as she walked into the kitchen and looked at her father. He was a romantic, deep down, and maybe that would play in their favor. 

"You know your mother, free spirit and all. Why do we need rings when we have love?" He chuckled to himself. "You know, I spent a year with that ring, burnt a whole in my pocket.."

Laurel's smile at the story of her mother and father's engagement quickly turned to a look of shock and Quentin knew. She dropped the plate and rag she was working with and the plate shattered on the ground. 

"....There was a mayday transmission late last night and it has not been heard from since. Among those missing are locals Robert and Oliver Queen" 

Her husband was dead. Oliver Jonas Queen who had told her, his wife, that he would come back to her, he was dead. She didn't move for several minutes.  "Laurel, sweetie, it's gonna be alright, I'm sure there was just an accident.  I'm sure they're fine." 

"No, no, no." Laurel shook her head.  She couldn't.  "Oh god," She cried.

Quentin held her in his arms. He had no love for the boy, but he couldn't exactly let his daughter's pain go to waste. "It's gonna be alright, sweetie." He told her as he took her to the couch and waited. It would be only a matter of time before Moira came and talked to them about how sad she was that Oliver and Robert were gone. 

A couple of weeks later, Dinah looked to Quentin who looked after Laurel.  "How is she?" 

"She's taking it pretty hard." Quentin said.  "She won't get out of bed. She's just, you know, I didn't think she loved him that much." 

Dinah looked away, feeling some guilt over what she had done. "Should we tell her about the service? Or do you think it might upset her more?" 

Quentin sighed, "Probably should," He went in and sat on her bed, "Laurel sweetie, I have something to tell you." 

"Yes?" She asked in a distant tone. It was like she wasn't even there.

Quentin hated seeing her like this. "You know, Oliver's memorial is gonna be in a couple of days. Do you wanna go?" 

She sat up and looked angry at him. "Of course, I want to go. Why would I not want to go?" She asked him with malice in her voice.

"Well, baby, you've seemed a little broken up about this."

Laurel laughed in anger. "Of course, I'm angry. I learned that my sister went with my freaking husband on his boat trip." 

"Husband?" He asked, an eyebrow quirked up.

Laurel sighed as she got out the marriage certificate out of her bedside table drawer. "We were waiting until he came back from his boat trip, but I guess that really doesn't matter now." She told him as she gave it to him. "Here," 

He looked at the certificate. They were married.  "Why didn't you tell us?" 

"We were gonna have the big ceremony when he came back. That was when we were gonna tell people we were married." She said.  "Now, I have to go to that church by myself and say goodbye."

On the day of Oliver's memorial service, Laurel got up, put on a black dress and heels and put a black hat with a netted veil on her head. Everyone deserved to know now that he had a wife and the he left her alone. 

She drove the church and got out of the car and there were plenty of cameras on her. They would have been on her regardless, because she was his girlfriend but now that people had heard whispers of her being his wife, well, they just got more intense.

Tommy took her hand and ushered her in and pushed the cameras away. Since there was no body, there was no casket, but she put her roses by the picture of him and cried.

People tried to come up to her and talk about it, but Tommy sent them away. The only people who were allowed to come up and talk to her were her family and his. 

Thea came over and hugged her. "Is it true? What they're saying? That you guys were married?" She asked.

Laurel nodded. "He was my husband." She told Thea.

"He still could be," Thea told her, trying to be supportive.  She looked down at the Harry Winston ring on her finger. "He had good taste," 

Laurel sighed as she looked at the ring. She'd been so happy to down to that jeweler and look at rings. He told her, anything she wanted. That it was hers. "Yeah, he did." She told Thea. 

People trickled out of the church and into their cars to go to the Wake that was being held for both Robert and Oliver at the Queen Mansion and left was only Tommy and herself. "We should go," He told her. 

"Can you give me a minute alone?" She asked him as she stared straight ahead. He gave her a kiss on the head and left.  She got up from the pew and went over to his picture. "This isn't how it was supposed happen, Ollie. I was supposed to come in here because we were getting married.  I was supposed to be wearing white, not black, and you took that all away from me with your stupid boat trip and sleeping with my sister. We were fucking married, god damn you.  Damn you to hell. We were married. We were supposed to look out for each other and all you thought about was yourself. I was counting on forever with you and now I don't even get a right now with you.  And the worst thing is I want you to come back. I want this to be a stupid dream. But it's not. You're not coming back. You've made a fool out of me. But not anymore Ollie, I can't do it anymore. I have to let you go. I have to live my life." She told him and touched his photograph once more.

Laurel tucked the ring away and tried to forget about Oliver. "You okay?" Tommy asked.

"I'm gonna try," She told him with a smile.

He gave her a little push. "You know you seemed pretty upset in there with him."

"I am, Tommy. He broke his vows the moment he got on that boat. He went with Sara. He told me he wanted to give me the world. Obviously not."

Tommy shrugged. "He didn't get married to you for nothing. He wanted to be binded to you forever."

She laughed at that. "Well, now he's dead and I'm bound to him."

She went to the wake and smiled, but that was the last time that she talked about Oliver to anyone except Tommy or the Queen.

She had a gag order on Oliver's name and took care of Thea and Moira as best she could. But it was hard. The whole world fell apart when Sara, Robert, and Oliver were declared dead. 

Five years went by and things got better and worse.  She became a lawyer, but her parents got divorced and her father started hitting the bottle. She got dad to quit drink. Mom moved to a new city. She got a job at a nonprofit and dad got his detective shield.  Tommy hounded her about moving on. 

Life seemed to be going in the right direction fast forward five years later, after she had forgotten about her little stint as Mrs. Queen. Of course, it never could stay like that.

"Oliver Queen is alive. The Starling City Resident was found by fishermen in the North China Sea five days ago, five years after he presumed dead following the accident at sea which claimed the Queen's Gambit. Queen was a regular tabloid presence and a fixture of the Starling City club scene. Shortly before his disappearance, he was acquitted of assault charges of a highly publicized drunken altercation with the papparazzi. Queen is the son of the Starling City billionaire Robert Queen who was also on board, but now officially confirmed as deceased.  Oliver was survived by his mother, Moira Queen, sister, Thea Queen, and his wife, Dinah Laurel Lance, who could not be reached for comment." Laurel was mostly asleep when the story came on and when she woke up in the morning convinced herself that it was a dream and went to work. 

"Come on, Laurel, we're lawyers," Johanna pleaded to her. "Not miracle workers. We can't win this." 

Laurel flipped through CNRI mail.  "If we can't win a class action suit against a man who swindled hundreds of people out of their homes and life savings then we're not fit to call ourselves a legal aid office," 

"And if we go bankrupt in the process, we won't BE a legal aid office. Hunt has an army of lawyers and they are ready to bury us." 

Laurel turned to Joanna who crossed her arms, "You and me against an army, I love those odds." 

"Why do you hate me?" 

Laurel sat at her desk and looked at her corkboard of all things mr. Adam Hunt.  They wanted something that could give them just the ounce of leverage to make this guy pay back his debts.

The news was on. "Details of the castaway story you've all heard about, the son of a very wealthy billionaire will soon become a legendary story. Jessica has more details of the complete castaway story," 

"The Queen's Gambit was last heard from more than five years ago," Jessica said on the news and Laurel knew something was up. She went and watched with the rest of everyone and stunned by the news.  This was not happening. Oliver was alive. "Mr. Queen has reportedly confirmed that he was the only survivor of the accident that took the lives of seven people, including local resident Sara Lance, survived by her sister, wife of Oliver Queen, Laurel-"  She turned the TV off. She didn't need those questions, because they would all ask and she didn't want to talk about it.

They all turned to her anyway. "Come on, people, we have work to do." And everyone busied themselves with papers and shuffled awkwardly while Joanna came to her side. 

"Why don't you take the day off?" She asked. 

Laurel shook her head, "What about Hunt? You, me, against an Army, remember?" She asked.

"You're gonna have other things on your mind. You should go." Joanna said.

"Seriously," Laurel told her, "I'm fine. I just need to get back to work. Let's get back to work. Please. Oliver won't come bother me until at least tomorrow, and at that point, I'm just gonna tell him where he can shove it." 

"You aren't at all excited that he's back?" Joanna asked, not believing Laurel's thorny exterior for a second. 

To her credit, Laurel put up a good front. "No," She said, flatly. "Now let's get back to work." 

"Okay," Joanna surrendered, but it was plainly obvious to her that there was something else going on with Laurel.  She covered it well, though, and she understood why people genuinely thought Laurel didn't want to see Oliver Queen.

The next day came and they were back at CNRI and discussed the Adam Hunt case some more when she went to walk to her desk and saw Oliver in her way. "Hello, Laurel. Can we talk?" 

She looked to Joanna who nodded to her and she nodded to him.  "I know a place around the corner that sells coffee. I need some. Walk with me." She said as she walked out of the office.

"So you went to law school. You said you would." He said as they got out.

She looked down at her hand.  "Yeah. Everyone's proud." She said. 

"Adam Hunt's a heavy hitter. You sure you want to get in the ring with him?" He made small talk well.

She didn't.  "Five years. And you want to talk about Adam Hunt?" She asked him as she looked him in the eye for the first time since stepping out of the office. "There are a lot of things we have to talk about. But you want to talk about Adam Hunt?" 

"No, not really," He admitted. 

She looked him straight in the eye. "Why are you here, Ollie?" 

"To apologize." 

That was incredible. He never apologized for anything and here he was, giving her words. "It was my fault. I wanted to ask you not to blame her." 

"For what? Oliver, you married me and you still chose her and sleeping around over me. You really have no ground asking me to do anything for you. I married you because I thought you were a good man. She fell under your spell just like I did.  She did the same stupid things I did,"

"I didn't...."

"She was my sister, Ollie. You cheated on me, your wife, with my sister, who was one of the only people to witness our actual marriage. And I wanted you back everyday for the past five years. But now that you're back, I want nothing to do with you."

She looked down at her hand and looked at the ring.  She wore it today, because the world knew her as mrs. Laurel Queen, she might as well relish in it for a little while.

Oliver looked at her pained. She saw the good moments in that ring. "I know it's too late to say this, but I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I'm sorry too." She said as she took the ring off and grabbed his wrist and put the ring in his hand. "I'd hoped you'd rot in hell a whole hell of a lot longer than five years."

He put it back in her hand. "That's yours."

"You can expect the divorce papers soon," She told him.

He couldn't believe that she let him go.  They were gonna be married. Of course, that was five years ago and a lot had changed since then. "Will you give me one more conversation, when you don't have work?"

She looked at him and looked to the coffee. "One more conversation to clarify everything. And then I'm setting up the divorce papers, Ollie. I'm not the person I was five years ago who you thought was a stop along the way. I'm the destination."


	26. Lost in the Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara breaks it off with Oliver and he goes home where Moira tells him to go to Laurel and tell her how he feels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Lost in the Stars  
> Words: 2014  
> Genre: Romance/Comfort  
> Pairing: Laurel/Oliver  
> Status: Done.

"But he's not.  That's all that matters." Sara had a tough time. Her instincts were sharp after years of being in the league and she wanted more than anything to trust them, but he knew she wanted to fight it too. And the will, the will to fight against killing, that was what was important.

"That's not true. I  _wanted_ to kill Roy. Because that's what I do. It's who I am." Sara told him point blank. She believed it too. He hurt from knowing that because he knew how hard it was not to kill.  "I spent six years in the darkness and I looked into the eyes of the devil and I gave him my soul." She turned away from him ready to leave.

He couldn't let her go. "Let me help you get it back." 

"No, you deserve someone better. Someone who can harness that light that's still inside of you. But I'm not that person. And I never will be."  She smiled a little and hoped that he would take it to heart.

"Sara," He pleaded quietly "don't."

"I'm sorry. I just care about you too much to be with you." And then she was gone. Gone for now. Maybe gone forever. No one really knew with Sara. She came and went as she pleased. He wanted to cage her, but it didn't quite work.

He went back to Queen Mansion and saw his mother make a drink as he leaned on the doorframe of the study.  "You're in good spirits," He noted to her.

"And  you are not, my dear." She said as she took a sip and put the drink down.  She looked to him.  "What's going on?" 

He shrugged. "Sara and I broke up." 

"You didn't think it was going to last, did you?" She asked him with a bit of a chuckle. Sara Adelaide Lance, always a charmer, young and fresh, caught her son's eye when he was in a relationship with her older sister. He saw her and her light spontaneousness and immediately wanted to have it.

Oliver looked to his mother, "I thought it might. I wanted to move in with her."

"And you brought this up?" She asked him, an eyebrow quirked.

He nodded. "Yeah, I did. I just wanted a place to call my own and I wanted her to be with me. And so I thought maybe, she'd like to be with me."

"Oliver," Moira said as she sat by her son. "Sara is just like her mother. Has a hard time settling down. So when you asked her to do this for you, you probably freaked her out. Remember what happened when Laurel asked you to move in with her?"

Oliver shook his head. He really did not want to think about that. He hated the idea of getting on that boat and sailing away from her. He never deserved Laurel back then. "I know, mom."

"I'm not saying it to bring you down, I'm saying it because you need to realize where a freebird does not like to be caged. Laurel tried to do it to you. And you tried to do it to Sara and both times had disastrous consequences."

"You're great with the pep talks, mom." Oliver turned to her with a smile. 

"So in the effort of curiosity, how did the breakup happen?"  

Oliver sighed. His mother was asking him for a rehash, after she told him that he brought this on himself. "Her exact words were, 'No, you deserve someone better. Someone who can harness that light that's still inside of you. But I'm not that person. And I never will be.' and 'I just care about you too much to be with you.' and then she was gone." 

"You really are your father's son." She chuckled as she took a drink of whiskey she poured earlier.

Oliver scrunched up his eyebrows. "I don't get it." 

"She's making way for the person you were always best with." Moira said. "Go talk to her." 

He realized what she might mean, but he didn't think it was true. Sara was a lot of things, but giving was not exactly among the top of the things that he give her characteristically. "You think I should go talk to Laurel?" 

"I think that if you don't," Moira said as she stood up, "That it will be the biggest mistake you ever make. That girl loves you."

"You think she would take me back?" He asked her. "I kind of fucked it up last year," 

Moira shook her head. "There is very little in this world I am sure of. I am sure of my love for you and Thea and I'm sure of Laurel's love for you. Go unfuck it up, my beautiful boy." 

He got up and hugged her. "Thank you," 

"Thank me when you get the girl. Not before." She told him as she took her glass into another room and waited for Walter who would no doubt be coming to do the post mortem of the rally.

He drove to Laurel's apartment, opened the door with the key he'd been given and then went up to her apartment and knocked on the door. "Sara, it's open, you don't have to knock." He heard from the otherside.

He opened the door and blushed. "It's not Sara. But I hope it's okay, I came in." 

"Yeah," She said as she turned around and looked at him. "Sara hasn't come home yet. I'm kind of worried. She was with you, tonight, right?" 

"She was," He admitted. "But I don't actually know where she went." 

Laurel looked confused. "I thought you two told each other everything." 

"We didn't, but that's not why I don't know where she is." He told her as he sat on the couch and looked up to her. "Sara and I, we broke up." 

"You broke up?" Laurel parroted back at him. He supposed she'd been supporting their relationship even if neither of them deserved it because of what it did to her. Still, she shoved those feelings aside and rightly so, was a little taken aback when she realized they were no longer.

He sighed. "Yeah, we broke up. I thought that we'd be together awhile. And this is not what I planned." 

Laurel rubbed his back and he closed his eyes for a minute and let himself be taken by the sensation. "What happened?" She asked, quietly.

"She thought she was too dark. Wanted me to be with someone who could harness the light I had inside me." He looked to her kitchen, barely touched except for the coffee maker and the microwave.

She smiled a little to herself.  "That sounds way too philosophical for the Sara who got on the boat with you." 

"She was very different from the person who got on the boat." He told her. 

She nodded and pushed him gently with her shoulder. "You are too. You know. You didn't do anything wrong."

"How do you know?" He asked her and looked into her eyes. Here was a woman who broke down. She had everything taken away from her. She literally hit rock bottom. She helped him with her sister when she shouldn't have, because they were both assholes to her. They both cheated her. And then they sort of threw their relationship in her face. She was someone who should hate him. Hate her sister. But she didn't.

She held his hand in hers and looked into his bright blue eyes that watered, "Because I know you better than anyone. And you wanted to show her light. You wanted to show her she could be normal. And real." 

"Laurel," He said as he looked to their hands clasped together and then looked back once more to her eyes and saw her blushing. "Of all the people in the world, there is only one who gives me hope..."

She gulped a little and didn't know what to say to him. "Ollie," 

"Lo," He said as he cupped her cheek in his hand and smiled. "It's always been you. You're my light." 

She blinked away a few of the tears on her face and smiled sadly to him. She looked into his eyes and put her hand on the one he held on her cheek. "I love you, Ollie. I'm always gonna love you. But I can't hop right back into this with you." 

"I get it," He said to her he gulped.  He didn't want to be with her unless it was a for real thing. He wanted her to know that she could trust him with her heart again and he deserved to work for it.

She looked at the space between them, there wasn't much and it felt heated, but there was enough. "I want you. I do. I have and will always love you, but we need to start from the beginning. We need to deal with this. We need to be honest with each other." 

"So where do we go from here?" He asked.

She held his face in her hands and looked directly into his eyes. "You need to tell me." 

"You already know, what is there to tell?" He asked her, because he knew what those boring eyes meant. It meant he kept a secret from her and she knew about it. He didn't know how she knew about it, but she knew about it. Seemed like everybody knew now. 

She shook her head and flushed away some of the tears. "I need to hear it from you. I need you to tell me. I need to know that you let me in." 

"Dinah Laurel Lance," He said as he held her hands and grounded her to his space. "I, Oliver Jonas Queen, am the city's Arrow. I have been saving you for two years and I hope that you forgive me for not telling you." 

"Yes," She replied as she wrapped her whole body around his in a hug.  His big presence always known. "I forgive you. I have forgiven you for everything. Doesn't mean I forgot abut it. Or that I'm not going to give you shit about it." 

He chuckled to her as she smiled.  "I think I can handle that," He told her.

"So let's start very very slow." She said as she got off the couch. "How about what we start with is coffee?" 

"How about I make dinner, you and me? Just like the old times." He asked her as he felt his heart swell again. Sara was right.  Someone who brought out of his light.

She looked to him.  "You want to cook for me?" She asked him with a little bit of a laugh.

"Of course, I would." He told her as he went over to her kitchen and found lots of staples that she didn't use.  Of course, the kitchen was always fully stocked.  It seemed like they had been used recently though.  "Sara been cooking for you?"

"Yes," She said as she smiled from the couch. "Her cooking isn't nearly as good as yours though. Even when all you did was make me omelettes and coffee." 

"You make better coffee than I do," He told her.

"I do," She smirked at him, "But it's better when it's shared with you." She said as she got up from the couch and looked at her kitchen.  "So what's cooking?" She asked him.

He looked at her pantry.  She had some easy pasta. "I think this fettuccine in a bag will do nicely, what about you?" 

"I think it sounds great," She told him.  "And how about some wine to go with it?" 

He gave her a funny look.  "I thought you didn't drink anymore?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I'm learning to do things with moderation." She said as she gave him the bottle.  

"Well, that's great," He told her as the water started to boil and gave her the bottle opener that was on the other side of him. "Looks, like we're all starting fresh." 


	27. Add One More, Makes Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver, Laurel, and Felicity are living the domestic life when Felicity might be pregnant after a year of trying and Tommy comes back from the dead and complicates things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Add One More, Makes Four  
> Words: 2145  
> Pairings: Laurel/Oliver/Felicity, Laurel/Oliver/Tommy mentioned, ends with Laurel/Oliver/Felicity/Tommy  
> Genre: Romance/Comfort  
> Status: Done

"Oliver, I need you to take Tommy to archery practice today," Laurel told him as she got ready for work. 

As she put her first earring on, he looked to her, "I thought Felicity was supposed to be taking him today.  I mean that's on the schedule, right?" He asked.

She shook her head and put her other earring on. "No, that's been you. Felicity has that meeting with the developers for her new gadget this afternoon, remember?" 

"Well, then can you do it, because I have an afternoon meeting too." He said.  He only said meeting because the baby was in the room and he didn't need her repeating words and then questions from Tommy that they would no doubt be unable to answer. 

She looked at him with a 'are you for real face?', "Oliver, you know I can't. I have a case that's going to court today. And you said you'd do this." 

"So he just gets to go because what you guys have is more important? I thought you both cared about this city.  You'd think my wives would support me with this." Oliver pouted.

Laurel had no time for this. "Oliver, stop. Felicity and I are your wives and we have jobs too. We're making sure that everyone in this house gets fed. So you best believe that sometimes you have to take the kid to archery practice. Now, I will try to get out early, but if I can't, I need you to be able to handle it, understood?" Laurel said as she grabbed her briefcase.

"Fine," Oliver said as he looked to the baby. At least one of the women wasn't mad at him.

She went over and gave him a kiss.  "I love you, even if you make me crazy. Have a good day with the baby." She told him as she went and kissed Felicity and got out of the house.

Felicity and Laurel got lunch together while Oliver tried to figure out how to rearrange things so he could get Tommy. "God, he was so whiny this morning." 

"I don't even know, he's been stressed." Felicity said as she pushed her salad around.

Laurel looked to her.  She didn't seem to be feeling good. "What's wrong?" She asked, worried about her wife. That was a weird thing to say. She had a wife. It was something she didn't think would happen. But Oliver and Laurel always needed someone else to balance them out and attraction to Felicity came pretty naturally. "Are you okay?" 

"You know that I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, right?" She asked. 

Laurel nodded. It had been on the calendar all week. "Yeah, I'm taking the kids to see the new pixar movie while you and Oliver are in the office. Is everything alright?" 

"He's just stressed because well, I missed my period.  And we've been trying for a year. We were gonna go anyway because we were going to test for fertility issues, because I really want a baby of my own, but he's just scared you know. My mom had complications in pregnancy. And if I'm pregnant, that could happen to me, and sometimes it was just easier when you were pregnant." She said.

Laurel took Felicity's hands into her own. "Were you guys scared to tell me you'd been trying for a baby?" 

Felicity shrugged as she looked down at her food. "Oliver said that it would be better if we knew for sure before we told you that we could. He thought that you might get jealous. He was looking out for your feelings." 

"Well," Laurel's features softened and she smiled a little, "You don't have to worry that I'm going to be jealous. I want you to have a baby. I want it to be something that you get to experience too. You're my wife. I want you to have that."

"You mean that?" Felicity asked.

Laurel nodded. "Of course I do. I love you, Lish." 

"I love you too, Laure." 

Felicity felt a little better and started pushing food into her mouth and Laurel finished up.  They talked as Felicity finished up with her meal.  They put the rest of what she couldn't finish in a to go box and parted ways.  

The case took longer than Laurel thought and she rushed home.  Oliver would of course want to kill her because she was supposed to cook dinner and she couldn't get out of court to tell him that she was going to.  

She raced to her car and opened the door quickly. She wanted to get home to Felicity and Oliver and apologize profusely. She got into the driver's seat and went to put her briefcase in the back, when she realized she wasn't alone.

"Hi, Laurel," Tommy said as waved a little.

Laurel blinked her eyes and made sure she wasn't dreaming. She pinched herself. "oww," She said and Tommy chuckled. "You're real.  You're real. How are you real? I saw you die. You died in my arms."

"Well, Dad spent a lot of time trying to get me back.  He finally managed to about a year ago and I've been acclimating ever since." He told her.  "You look great.  Dad said you pushed out two kids recently." 

"Yeah," Laurel said as she blushed. "Tommy Robert Queen-Lance-Smoak and Eleanor Adelaide Queen-Lance-Smoak." She told him.

"Queen-Lance-Smoak, you mean, you guys and the IT girl that Oliver liked?" He asked.

Laurel nodded. "Yeah, you know. We always needed someone else. It didn't work if we didn't."

"Yeah, I do remember that quite distinctly. Think you guys have a place for me in the love den still?" He asked. He'd been dead for years and so he knew they changed as people and they needed different things, but it was always the three of them. He wanted to be part of that again.

Laurel sighed. "If it was only me and him, it'd be no question. But we have to take Felicity into account and Oliver and I are tough already." She told him as she smiled, a little embarrassed. "Speaking of, he's gonna kill me, because I was supposed to make dinner tonight and I'm not home." 

"You cook dinner now?" He asked, a little disbelief in his voice. Laurel's cooking was notorious for being terrible.

Laurel just glared at him. "That joke gets really old, you know?" 

"I'm sorry," He apologized, "But we should probably get you home."

Laurel sighed. She wanted to go home, but she also didn't want to fight with Oliver again. This morning had been enough. "Where do you want to be dropped off?" She asked him.

"I want to go home with you."

"Are you sure?" She questioned.

He nodded. "There is nothing I wanted more in this world than to get back to you and Oliver."  

She drove them home to the Queen mansion where they took care of Thea and the babies with Raisa and each other and she unlocked the car and took Tommy by the hand as she opened the front door and everyone was there. 

"Laurel, I thought we had this argument last week, when you're gonna be late, you need to call--" Oliver started in with the yelling and then stopped when he saw both of them together.  "Tommy?" He asked, quietly. 

Felicity came down with Eleanor, "Look, Oliver, I told you to stay away from the door, the first thing she need is not you yelling at her. She just got out of court." She looked to all of them. "Tommy Merlyn." 

"You must be Felicity," Tommy said as he smoothed on charm.

Felicity blushed. "I thought you were dead." 

"I was," He said and shrugged. "It's complicated." 

Laurel smiled to Oliver. "Sorry, about not calling. Court ran really late and I couldn't just whip out my phone in the middle of it. How about Pizza? It's gonna be quick to get someone to deliver to us. And then we can all talk?" She asked him as their son, peeked out of his father's legs. 

"Mommy, who's dat?" He said with big eyes and a curious expression. 

She went to pick up her son and hold him in her arms. "This, Tom, is who you're named after. He's daddy's and mommy's best friend.  Tom, this is Tommy Merlyn, your godfather." She said as he lit up with delight and clapped.  "Why don't you go play, though? Mommy's gonna get pizza." 

"Pizza!" He exclaimed. "Do you want to see my trucks?" Little Tommy asked big Tommy as he pulled him to another room and Merlyn seemed delighted by someone who so unabashedly loved him. 

Oliver came and stood by her, "So where'd you find him?" He asked. 

"He was in my car when I got out of work. Which I'm sorry I couldn't call by the way. I didn't mean for it to go that late." She said to him.  It was supposed to be an open and closed case, but it clearly hadn't been. 

Oliver shushed her. "You just get pizza, we'll talk about the kinks later." He told her as he kissed her hair. 

"On that note," Laurel stopped him before he left and went to go watch Tommy play. "You didn't have to be scared that I'd be jealous or weird about Felicity being pregnant. I care about both of you and she should get to experience that. Not just me." 

"I just though, you had Tommy and Eleanor and it seemed like you were having the babies. And we don't exactly talk about what Felicity and I do when we're alone." He said, awkwardly, as he put his hands in his pants pockets and looked down.

She shook her head. "Oliver, we decided together that we were always better when there was someone else around. When we had someone else to bond with too. We did it with Tommy. And now we're doing it with Felicity. I didn't enter this life because I wanted just you. We'd be together with no one else if I wanted that. When there's someone else, we have a better connection."

"Guess, we have some things to talk about that aren't just about kinks, huh?" He asked.

She nodded. "Guess so." 

The kids were fed and put into bed and the four adults who needed to talk about things settled in the living room. 

"So," Tommy said, awkward, "I'm alive." 

Oliver nodded. "You are alive. Do you need a place to stay?" He asked.

"Oliver, I know you're stupid, but you're not an absolute idiot. This is about something very different. If it had been about something as easy as a play to stay, we could have asked that in front of the kids." 

Felicity blushed. "So it was the three of you before? I mean I know that it was the three of you before, but it was really the three of you before?" 

"We didn't get that place down by the pier for nothing." He told her with a wink which made her blush more furiously. 

Oliver nodded. "That would change our relationship paradigm." He told Felicity.  "What he's asking, is to be included in this whole thing." 

"What would that mean for me?" She asked them, looking a little glum, because she thought that Tommy being back would mean that she would have to leave the threesome.

Laurel chimed in this time. "Nothing. You're our wife. We married you. Even if it was a private ceremony.  We did this because we love you. Whether we decide to bring Tommy into our marriage, you're a part of that now." 

"I just thought that you and Oliver...it's always been you. It hasn't always been the three of us." She said as she twiddled with her fingers.

Laurel shook her head. "Where me and Oliver are concerned, you're concerned now too." 

Oliver put his hand on Laurel's knee and squeezed. "She's right.  We come as a package deal." 

Felicity looked at the both of them and looked to Tommy and thought about it for a little bit. "I think we should do it." She told them.

"You do?" Oliver asked. 

She nodded. "There's gonna be lots of changes to our relationship in the next year anyway, I mean whether or not I'm pregnant. I think that it would be best if we all had one person to rely on." She told them. "Also, you guys got the joy of meeting someone new in me. And I kind of want to know that joy.  Tommy didn't really know me before this and I didn't know him. And that's exciting." 

"Tommy, do you want the three of us?" Laurel asked.

He nodded vigorously. "I love you both so much. And I relish the chance to get to know this flower of delight you have in your life." 


	28. Where We Belong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel and Oliver wake up naked in bed together, only to find Tommy making breakfast for them and they must decide whether to public with their relationship or keep it behind closed doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Where We Belong   
> Words: 2148.  
> Pairing: Laurel/Oliver/Tommy, Laurel/Joanna brotp.  
> Genre: Romance/Friendship.  
> Status: Done.

Birds chirped, annoying at the window and Laurel groaned. God, what did they get up to last night? She didn't think she had that much to drink, but judging by the pounding in her head, it was suggested otherwise.

She groaned as she peeled her eyes open and saw Oliver in her bed. "Oh god," Laurel said, shocked. She didn't remember seeing him last night. Hell, she hadn't even remembered the last time she wanted to see him.  

It was enough to wake him, "What the hell is going on?" He asked, sleepiness clearly evident in his voice.  He rolled over and looked into her eyes. "Shit." He whispered.

"Yeah," She said as threw the sheet over and put her feet on the ground.  She looked down. Shit. God dammit, she got naked with him, she cursed him.  "What exactly happened last night?" She asked him.

He shook his head and screwed his eyes shut.  "No idea," He said.

They both heard toast pop.  "Who else came home with us?" She asked him as she rubbed her eyes. 

"What part of no idea confused you this morning, Laur?" He asked as he stumbled around the room and looked for something to wear. He threw her his shirt and found his underwear, that was as decent as it was getting.

She put on the shirt and went out with him, only to find Tommy in the kitchen. "Ahh, you guys finally rolled out of the drunken stupor." He smiled to them.

"What happened last night, Tommy?" Laurel said as she yawned and sat at the bartop. Oliver was a surprise, but Tommy, she thought was an impossibility. God, she must have had a lot to drink last night if she couldn't remember anything.  "And are you cooking breakfast?"

"Yes," He told her resolutely.  "You guys decided to go out drinking and dancing and Thea called me at about two in the morning to come get you, because you guys were falling all over yourselves trying to tongue kiss and it creeped her out just a little. Not that she didn't love that you two were getting along so well." 

"How'd we end up in bed together?" Oliver asked as he scratched his head.

Tommy shook his head.  "Did you not hear the part about you two falling over each other trying to tongue kiss? You guys had a pretty wild night. I mean not that it wasn't enjoyable as fuck, but you guys clearly needed to be with each other." 

"You mean?" Laurel asked, quietly. They hadn't really talked about this since Oliver came back.  She knew that they did it regularly back when they all were younger and slightly more stupid, but they never talked about since Oliver came back from the island.

Tommy came over and took her face in his hands, "Yep, it was the three of us last night." He took Oliver's hand and brought him closer to them.  "So do we want to talk about it?" 

"How'd we get there?" Oliver asked with a grin on his face as he looked at both of his partners. 

Tommy smiled, Oliver had always been the curious one. "Well, when Thea called me to get you two, you guys were excited.  I managed to convince you to follow me to the car and I actually managed to get to settle in the backseat and buckle up. I turned on the music and you guys were insistent about singing Queen songs at the top of your lungs in between kisses. And when we got here, I opened the doors but you guys seemed more interested in the radio, so I convinced you there was something better upstairs. And I wasn't exactly wrong." 

"You okay, Laur?" Oliver asked because she hadn't said anything. 

She nodded to them. "I'm hungry. And my head is killing me. But this, it was really only a matter of time." She said as she held both of their hands.  

Tommy gave her hand a squeeze and then fixed her a plate of breakfast, including hot coffee, a glass of cold water, and some pain medication for that throbbing headache.  

"So do we want to do the same arrangement as last time?" Laurel asked.

It surprised them both because Laurel seemed to be more of a one person gal now, but she was on board with this. "Well, I mean, would it work? I was a regular feature in the news last time. It threw people off of us. Do we really want to try and start that again when it's gonna be a matter of time before people find out?" Oliver asked her as he bit into his toast. "I mean I'm on board with it, but you have your job to think about. You love your job." 

"I also know I'm in love with the two best men on the planet." She told him as she gave him a kiss and he smiled at her coffee breath. "Besides, we don't have to decide right now.  We can just do it as it feels right." She told him.

She went and changed Tommy drove her to her car and she went to work. Joanna was at the D.A.'s office, "So I heard about you and the boys." 

"Yeah?" Laurel asked. "What'd you hear?" 

Joanna smiled at her. Laurel being coy was a good sign. "Just that you and the boys were seen deliriously happy as you left Verdant." She said. 

"That did happen, yes." Laure told her. Joanna was one of her best friends, but it was a little weird even talking to her about Tommy and Oliver who she literally shared everything with. Including partners. "Anything else?" She asked.

Joanna quirked her eyebrow, "Did something else happen?" 

"Nope," Laurel shook her head as she opened her office. "So what can I do for you today?" She asked as she sat in her chair and went to get out her files. 

Joanna smiled at her, "There is so something you're not telling me, spill. You never go from casual to business that fast, unless there's something to hide." She told her friend. 

"I'm serious, Joanna, there's nothing." She insisted and looked to her files. "You were here about the Jones Case right?" She asked as she flipped through her files to find the right one. 

Joanna stopped her for a minute. "You know you guys play a dangerous game. But you could change the way they see you." She told her friend.

"What do you mean?" Laure asked as she looked away and got the file out. 

Joanna quirked her eyebrow up, "You could come forth with your relationship. It wouldn't be the easiest thing in the world, but at least you wouldn't be crucified in the papers for flipping between them." 

Laurel laughed. If there was something she knew it was that no matter what decision she made, the newspapers were gonna have a field day.  "It's a little more complicated than that. But is this your way of saying we have your support, Miss De La Vega?" She asked with a curious eye. 

"You guys have always had my support because I've always known." Joanna smirked.

This took Laurel by surprise. She was sure they were pretty careful last time. "I thought we played it off better," She blushed.

"Oh, for the rest of the world, they didn't suspect a thing, but those of us who saw you everyday, we knew. Clear as day. The three of you practically made googly eyes every chance you got at each other. Also as three separate couples, you mentally undressed the third partner together, a lot.  Didn't take a genius." She shrugged. 

Laurel smiled a little to herself when she remembered the old days. Oliver and Tommy never looked back. They were better with each other. They all knew it.  Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to go public, but that was a conversation for her and the boys. "So back to the case?" She asked.

"Back to the case," Joanna nodded.

The day had been full of haggling with crackpots who actually thought that murderers should be roaming the street on bail and convincing them that they couldn't get it to be that way.  White collar criminals who had genius lawyers to let them live in their ivory towers still. Rapists and Assaulters who had the audacity to assume that she wanted their advances. 

She sighed as she put all of the files away, put the ones that she needed for her depositions in her briefcase, and looked around. Everyone else left at five, like normal people, but she had emails that piled up that gave her an extra hour of work. 

She took her phone out of her case and called Oliver.  The phone rang a couple of times and then it picked up, "Hello?' Tommy's voice, breathy and strained.

"Are you guys still at the apartment?" She asked as she heard panting in the background.

It took her a second to get an answer, but Tommy managed to grind out, "Yes," before more sensual noises came into ears.

"You guys are having sex." She said, a little bit scandalized. She knew they did it. Hell, she'd walked in on them plenty, but they just got back together. Of course, she didn't know what she expected when she left the boys alone. 

Tommy grinned into the phone and she could hear it. "Well, come home and you can have some too." 

"Do we have dinner? Or should I get some on my way home?" She asked, laughing a little into the speaker.

Tommy went quiet and she could tell they stopped for a second and discussed what was going to happen. "Oliver says he ordered chinese food and it's in the fridge," 

"Sex and chinese food, sounds like a date," She smiled. She drove back to the apartment by the pier and allowed herself in. "Boys, I'm home," She announced.

The boys came out of the bedroom and looked to her, "Sex or food first?" Tommy asked her. 

Laurel smiled, "Why don't we have food first?" She asked them. "Because I'm sure you guys need a couple of minutes to recharge." 

Oliver sat on her right and Tommy sat on her left, just as it had always been. "So how was work today?" Oliver asked her.

"Joanna came into office today," She told them as she scarfed down some Kung Pao Chicken and rice. 

Tommy looked to Oliver and then to Laurel, "Yeah, what she need?" He asked.

"She's working on a case and needed some documents, but she also wanted to gossip." Laurel shrugged. This, she liked this, she didn't want other poeple in it with them, and papers would no doubt try to make it about someone else, but it was just about them. 

Oliver looked to her. "You okay with that?" 

"Yeah," Laurel said as she stopped for a second a looked at him.  "She said she knew from before. Apparently, we made it pretty obvious to the people who knew us best." She smiled at them.

Tommy looked to her. "So I guess we should have that talk from this morning?" 

"I told you both that I wanted to come out. And I still think we should." She told the both of them. 

Oliver took her hand in his and kissed the knuckles, "Are you ready for potential backlash?" He asked, because it was her ob that they had to worry about. Verdant would be fine and the stocks might take a hit, but he could deal with the company. It wasn't like they could fire him. He owned a majority of the shares. 

"You don't have to do it if you're not ready. We want you to know that we are both okay with that. We can keep this private. As us." Tommy told her. 

She nodded to the both of them. She held Tommy's hand in hers. "The only real way that we are ever gonna get this to be our private business is by coming out with it.  At least then, they won't always take pictures of us having normal dates." She told them.

"You sure about this?" They both asked, a little skeptical.

She nodded. "I love you guys. And it's been five years of broken hearts, because Tommy reminded me of you.  And you got on that stupid boat. But we're back together. Even if we didn't mean to be." 

"We always did manage to handle accidently falling into bed as the three of us with a surprising amount of acceptance." Oliver said as he kissed her and then kissed Tommy.  "So tomorrow, we hold a press conference, and then that's it? This is our life." 

"We'll figure it out from there," She nodded.

Tommy kissed Oliver and then Laurel.  "We always have." 


	29. About This Old Coffee Shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU! 
> 
> Laurel goes to her favorite coffee shop on a Saturday to read a good book and runs into the illustrious Oliver Queen she's heard so much about in college.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: About This Old Coffee Shop  
> Words: 2475  
> Genre: Romance  
> Pairing: Laurel/Oliver  
> Status: Done

Life had been getting blissfully back to normal. College had been great, but she was glad to be back in Starling where all of her friends and family were. Then of course, when she had gotten back, there was the trip to Las Vegas with Felicity to celebrate being back together. Even though, they were in the same freaking city for college, it'd been hard to get together. Vegas had been fun but she was glad to be back in Starling city. And on a Saturday afternoon, she thought about how she would like to spend it and the first answer she came up with was coffee and a good book at her favorite cafe. She might even get a scone or a donut.

She got in her and car and went to the library first. She returned her library books ages ago, but she hadn't got any new ones and she didn't want to be super committed to reading a book yet. Not when she didn't know how she felt about any of the new bestsellers.

She looked through the stacks and saw plenty of gorgeous people. One day she was going to have to bring her camera in here and just take some pictures of people looking at books she thought to herself. She saw the new bestsellers section and looked around. There were a lot of ones that she noticed from the papers and they all looked good, but she didn't want something too serious.

She picked up a bright blue paperback she vaguely remembered Felicity talking about and looked at the blurb on the back of the book, " _Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten._ " It didn't sound terrible. Actually, it sounded pretty good. And she that Felicity was going to take her to the movie, because she was so excited about the movie and how great Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort were gonna be.

She put it under her arm and decided to check it out. Dana, the weekend, front desk receptionist seemed happy to see her again. "This one is so good. You're gonna love it," Dana said, excited.

"My friend convinced me," Laurel told her. "She's really excited about the movie."

Dana shook her head. "It's gonna be great. I hope you just love it." As she swiped it across the machine so that it could be taken out of the library without setting off the alarm in the front.

"I'm sure I will." Laurel said as she took the book and left. She got into the car, put the book in the passenger's seat and went to the coffee shop.

She forgot who told her about the little hole in the wall, but she went to the Paper Town's Cafe for years. She put the book and her purse in a bright little nook in the corner. She could see the entire shop. She got her wallet out. She went to the counter and smiled to the new guy, she guessed he was new, she hadn't seen him, but then again, she hadn't been there in a while.

"Can I get a latte, please?" She asked him.

He looked up to her with a smile as he started working on her drink, "You're that hot new lawyer everyone likes to gawk at on the tv, right?" He asked her.

She blushed a little and tucked some hair behind her ear. "I guess I am."

"Well, Miss hot lawyer," He said as he finished putting her drink together, "It's on the house,"

She debated about whether or not to let him do this, because he was no doubt only to get her attention. She gave himse a smile and took her drink. "Thank you," She told him as she took it and sashayed back to her nook and took out her book. She couldn't let him think that impressed her much.

She sipped on her coffee as she opened the book and started reading, " _Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed..._ " She immediately immersed herself and soon the coffee was an afterthought to the book. 

  
She got to the middle of the book within two hours, she sipped coffee in between turning pages furiously. She understood why Felicity loved this one so much. Definitely not something Laurel would have picked up without Felicity, but she really liked it. She picked up her cup and put it to her mouth and found it empty. Well, damn.

Laurel looked up to the counter. There was a line and the person at the counter wasn't the "hot lawyer on tv" barista, she sighed. She reluctantly put the book down and picked up her wallet.

The traffic wasn't that heavy in Paper Towns, it usually wasn't, and there wasn't anyone in her way from the table to the line. It should have been simple. She looked away for one minute. She looked at her phone to make sure that she hadn't missed any important text messages or phone calls.

Unfortunately, that meant she didn't have eyes on where she was going when she bumped into someone. Her wallet and her phone flew in opposite directions. "Oh, god, I'm so sorry," She said immediately as she scrambled to the ground to get her wallet and her phone.

He shook his head and smiled. "I promise, it was my fault." He told her as he picked up her phone and gave it back to her.

She took it with a blush. "It really wasn't. I wasn't looking where I was going and I bumped into you."

"Agree on a tie? We were both at fault?" He asked and the easy smile came quick and fast and she was enamored by it.

She nodded. "Tie, Mr....?"

"Mr. Queen, but you can call me Oliver." He said as he put his hand out.

She took it in hers and shook it vigorously, "Laurel Lance, Oliver." She said with a smile and tucked back her hair as she looked at her shoes.

"I didn't figure the hot young lawyer to be the type who was shy around guys?" He chuckled.

She blushed bright red and looked at him, jaw agape. "I'm not usually, but you, Oliver Queen are not just any guy."

"Oh yeah?" He asked.

She nodded. "Don't believe I haven't heard about you. You're practically Ivy League Sorority legend." She told him. She still smiled. He didn't seem like the guy that all the stories made him out to be.

He blushed this time. "I promise you, I'm not like the stories you've been told," Oliver said and tried to do damage control, a man very aware of what people said about him.

"Don't worry, Oliver, I give people chances to show me exactly what shades of gray of the stories hold up and which ones don't." She told him with a smirk.

He opened his mouth to say something to her, a witty retort or something, when the barista smiled at her, "What can I help you with, Miss Lance? Latte, Macchiato, Americano?"

"Macchiato. And one of the blueberry cake donuts, please?" She asked as she looked at the case. "How much is it?" She asked.

She went and opened up her wallet and Oliver found his voice again. "I'm gonna get her order." He said as he smiled to Laurel.

"You sure? Getting me coffee doesn't mean anything. Ask the barista who bought me coffee earlier." She asked, eyebrow quirked.

He laughed. Clearly, she was in the business of rejecting people who thought that buying women things was clearly an impossible to refuse invitation to sex with them. "I'm sure. I just want to talk with you. And paying for this one gives you more money to buy more coffee, so you can stay here longer. Besides," He flashed his Amex Black Card at her, "I'm good for it."

She nodded at him as the barista laughed nervously as she swiped the thing after taking his order. That was probably the first time she'd ever seen one, much less touched one.

She took him to her little booth in the corner and smiled to him, "So Queen, guess it's not just a last name, so much as a lifestyle," She grinned.

"Sort of," He replied with a shrug. "So you said something about Ivy League sorority legend? Where were you?" He asked her.

She nodded, "Harvard. Law school. You should have guessed that one." She side eyed him.

He chuckled. She didn't give him extra privilege just because of his name and he liked that. "Guess I should have. They're the best. And you look like you accept nothing but the best."

"Damn straight. So what about you, Queen? Where'd you go?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Went a little everywhere. Nowhere was exactly the right fit for me," He told her. "But like you know, I got pretty comfortable a couple of times."

"Thought you said it wasn't the way it sounded?" She asked as she put the coffee to her mouth and sipped.

He looked away and looked back to her and shrugged. "I didn't sleep away with all of them. But I'm not innocent, miss lawyer. Far from it."

"You slept with my roommate." She told him. "in my bed if I remember what she said right," She took another sip.

He took a sip of his coffee and put it down. "Who was your roommate?" He asked as he winced.

"Joanna De La Vega," She smirked at him. "What do you have to say now?'

He sighed. "You're that Laurel. God, what a convoluted way to meet. You're right. I slept with her. And to be fair, we didn't mean to sleep in your bed. It just happened."

"And that makes it better?" She asked him with a shocked face.

He shook his head. "No, it doesn't."

"You get points for not saying sorry and not making excuses, Queen." She sat back and looked at her book.

He looked at it too. "You know, I know one of the producers of the movie." He told her.

"You read that book?" She asked him, confused. It didn't seem like his type of book. To be perfectly honest, it didn't seem like he read books, especially popular young adult fiction like The Fault in Our Stars and it was kind of a weird experience to image that he did. 

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Who's judging now?" He asked her with a bit of a chuckle.

She nodded. "I am," She told him. "So you read that book?" She asked him, now genuinely curious about the little things about him.

"Yeah, my buddy invited me to Amsterdam with him for a few days and I watched them film it. I thought I should read the source material." He blushed. This was not the kind of thing that he told everyone. "I could see if I could hook us up with an early screening," He offered.

She blinked at him. She definitely hadn't expected that from someone she just met. "You'd do that?" She asked him. "You don't know even know me?"

He smiled at her, "I know enough. You're a hot shot lawyer who is fiercely loyal to her friends and roommates who went to Harvard and could have gone anywhere she wanted, but instead came back to Starling because she thinks it's the best place in the world." He told her.

"I didn't tell you anything about my friends." She said to him as she leaned back in her chair.

He took a sip of coffee and put it down. "You didn't have to. The book did."

"Explain." She commanded of him.

He grinned. "It's a library book which indicates that you've either don't want the attachment of a book you own or you wanted to taste without being committed. You don't look like the type of girl who typically reads cancer kid books. And you have a bookmark in it that's your best friend's initial," He said as he opened the book and took out the F bookmark.

"Good deductions." She told him as she crossed her arms. "So when do we do this early showing of movie? I'm sure Felicity would love it."

"Felicity? You want her to come up?" He asked her.

She nodded. "You're the one who brought her up. Of course, I'm bringing here."

"She has a boyfriend?" He asked.

Laurel laughed. "Why are you afraid, she wants your dick?" She asked.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time. But I want this to be about you." Oliver whispered to her.

She put her hand on his. It was weird how natural it felt to put her hand on his. "Don't worry it will be, Tommy and Felicity are very happy together."

He looked to her eyes which sparkled with beauty. "Well, good." He said as he smiled. "I'm glad I met you, Laurel Lance."

"You never told me when this showing was." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Why don't you give me your phone number and we can work out details."

She nodded. "One condition, though."

"What?" He asked, a little exasperated.

She gave him her phone, "Take me to dinner, tomorrow?" She asked.

"Deal." He told her as he dialed his number into her phone and called himself from her phone. "You know, I would have done that anyway."

"Really?" She asked. "Why?"

"Because you're the most beautiful girl I've met in a long time." He blushed.

She blushed too. "I like you, Oliver Queen." She told him as she picked up her book and wallet and put them in her bag and got up.

"I like you too, Laurel Lance." He said getting up.

They walked out together and she smiled at the sun. "So I'll see you tomorrow night?" She asked him as she stood at her car door.

He nodded. "Yes," He said. "I look forward to it,"

"Me too," She said and as he walked away she opened her door and prepared to go home.

Then he came back and swept her up in the most romantic kiss. She melted as they melded together through their lips. But as soon as it began, it finished. "What was that for?"

"Because I'd been wanting to do that since you bumped into me in the line." He said as his cheeks flushed.

Laurel was crazy for what she was about to do, but she only lived once. "Do you want to come home with me?"

"I'd thought you'd never ask."


	30. Dancing Through Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel gets injected with mirakuru by a street thug to wake up in a new place which helps her control her new powers and then she goes for her first day on the job as the black canary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Dancing Through Fire  
> Words: 2048  
> Genre: Action  
> Character: Laurel Lance  
> Status: Done

Thinking back to her life before, she wondered what she ever liked about it. She took everyone's crap. She argued it. She helped them to their path. They were grateful sure, but they never showed that.  The help was never mutual. She was so scared of losing that image of the perfect darling lawyer daughter and woman of the people that she didn't rock the boat too much until it mattered and then people looked shocked. 

No matter how much she'd been through, people were shocked that she could make a fuss about the injustices of the world. 

She trusted widely and openly and that had also been to her detriment. People took her heart out of her chest and threw it in the ocean, shot it up with arrows, shoved it into glass cases, put it up on a pedestal, and dropped it from planes. Where she felt all of that injustice done to her, she'd lashed out. 

So now, when another villain, another evil human being had her by the throat, shoved up against a wall, she took a deep breath and remembered exactly as she had been told,  _just remember to sing._ She jabbed her elbow into his solar plexus and got away for a minute.  She started to run when another large man stood in the way of her escape.  Laurel went to push the heel of her hand into his nose, but he grabbed her by the wrist and he jabbed some kind of needle in her throat. 

She cried out and she hadn't thought that it would do anything other than give her a small amount of relief from the pain that she was feeling, except it did.  The man dropped to the ground and she ran.  She ran as fast as she could, and stumbled into someone.  "Whoa, you're gonna be okay," They said as she faded out from pain.  She thought it was all a dream.

When she regained consciousness, she immediately wanted to run and saw a lab tech, "Hey there, sleeping beauty, I'm Danielle and we're not here to hurt you," She told Laurel.

"Where am I?" Laurel asked.

Danielle nodded for her to come with her.  They got out of the little white room that Laurel had with a bed and machines hooked up and went to a big open gym with a few other people who were accompanied by people in labcoats.  "We help people who get jabbed with serums." 

Laurel looked at Danielle really for the first time, her bright pink hair was pulled up away from her face and she wore small black framed glasses.  "You're saying what that guy was real and that cry that hurt him was me?" She asked.

Danielle chuckled. "Yep, that was you. That serum was mirakuru, but for some reason, it reacted differently with you than everyone else. Might be a hormone thing though." 

"So what now? Am I stuck here?" Laurel asked.  She was itching to get out and see the world and Danielle could see that.

Danielle smiled to her. "We're not going to keep you here. We don't have some rule about going outside. It's your life and you do with it what you want, but we're here to help you." 

This struck a cord because for everything that she had done in her life, no one said those words. No one said we're here to help you. No one cared enough. They all said I love you. They all said, we want to help you, but no one ever followed through. And Danielle, she seemed nice enough. She took a chance on someone she clearly didn't have to.

"Where do we start, Danielle?" She asked.

Danielle looked down at her clipboard, "Well, let's start by testing your strength," She said as she took Laurel over to some dumb bells and started with fifty on each side, a 100 total, a pretty modest weight for someone with mirakuru injected in them. 

Laurel picked them up like they were pieces of paper. Same with 200. Same with 300.  She started to get a little stressed out at 400 and screamed at 500, which broke the glass available. 

"What the hell was that?" Laurel asked Danielle who had covered her ears and cowered away. 

Danielle looked relieved when Laurel looked confused.  "That was the thing that happened while you were trying to escape. Why we could help you." She said.  "The mirakuru was injected into your throat and vocal cords.  And it seems to be giving you a supersonic screech essentially." 

"God, that's so cool." Laurel looked excited.

Danielle had seen that look in Laurel's eyes, many a time, she was practically a pro at this.  "You know, you have a life outside of your body that you need to keep in mind,"  She told Laurel, "But you could be someone really great to a lot of people." 

"I want to keep working." She nodded to Danielle. "My city needs me. My city needs justice, but if this has meant anything to me, it's that the system fails people and I intend to protect them." 

Danielle showed her to a room where she could practice her cry.  "We figured you might be one of the ones who wanted to do something with your power," Danielle told her, "So this room was created for you. Kennedy will be your teacher. She's something of an expert at focusing energy." 

Laurel nodded to Danielle. "Well, she's no Diana, but I think I can work with her," Kennedy said as she looked Laurel up and down.  "You can go, Danielle. We'll take care of it from here." 

Working with Kennedy was tough but Laurel liked it.  She liked the challenge of someone who didn't believe in her, because it just meant she had time to prove her worth.

And Kennedy was fair on that point.  She liked to be impressed but she also understood where Laurel came from and where she got her power.  And when she hit a target with her cry, she did an excited little jump and Kennedy nodded her head and smiled. Kennedy smiled. She actually smiled. 

That was big because Kennedy never smiled.  "I think you're ready, Lance." She told Laurel.  "You ready to be out there?" 

She saw the shattered target and nodded to her. "I am," She told Kennedy. "Thank you for doing this for me," She said, because Kennedy had been an excellent teacher in all of this but it was time to make it out on her own. 

"Don't thank me, Lance. I hope you get your ass kicked and come back.  You might be ready, but there have been plenty people who were ready who needed more training." 

Barrel of monkeys that one. She thought as she shook her head and gathered her things. She stopped into Danielle's office who smiled. "You leaving us?" She asked.

"For now," Laurel nodded. 

Danielle got up from her desk and hugged Laurel. "I hope you do great out there," 

"I'm sure I will.  Thanks to you." She smiled.

Danielle shook her head. "All I did was tell you the truth. You decided to stay here and hone your skills. You did all the work." 

"You still helped." Laurel acknowledged. If she hadn't been here, she didn't know what she would have done. New powers. New strength.  A system that failed her. 

Danielle nodded her head.  "I have a present for you." She said and opened a drawer.  She took out several pieces of cloth and smiled. "Since you want to be one of the heros, figured you might need this." 

"A costume?" She asked as she unfolded all of the pieces. It was pants and a top that were easy to fight in and a mask. 

Danielle smiled again. "You might need a wig. That hair's kind of distinctive.  You also need a place to figure out who to go after. But after that, you're ready to go." 

"What do you do with the ones who don't end up like me? Who don't want to help?" Laurel asked.  They were so giving to her, but she couldn't think about what if the situation had been reversed.

Danielle spun around.  "We try to help them understand why they have that anger and resentment inside of them and we try to help them control it. Ultimately, it's their choice, we're just the conduits." 

Laurel left the palace that had given her literally everything with her powers and went back to Starling City to find it just as she had left it.  Dirty and corrupt, with the ones with the power trying to keep it and the ones who didn't have it, wanting a little piece of it. 

Laurel went to the first wig store she found and bought a bleach blond wig and a way to keep it on even during heavy activity.  She smiled at it.  This was going to be awesome.  Now, she just had to find her first target. 

She took to the rooftops and put on the costume and looked for someone and then she realized that she came to where she'd been jabbed in the throat and true to form there were people who were stabbing and people who were being stabbed.

She jumped in, "Hi boys," She said as she waved.

They were momentarily confused, but she just smiled and roundhouse kicked the first, who went down, but the second one tried to grab her.  She stepped on his toes and put an elbow in his groin.  "You bitch!" He said as his buddy grabbed her.

She looked at her victim, "Go, save yourself, kid, I'm gonna be fine." 

"Oh, you're not gonna be fine, cunt.  You're gonna suffer."

The kid looked confused and Laurel just nodded to her.  "I promise you, you'll see me again, okay?" She asked.

The kid nodded and she smiled. "Well, boys, it's just the two of you against me," She told him.

"Yeah, and you're gonna see God tonight," He said as he punched her in the stomach.

RAAAAAAAAAGH. Laurel let out and she could see the ears bleeding.  She could see them cowering.  They let her go and she stepped on one's throat, "Don't you ever call me a cunt again," She told him, "Because you will regret it." She seethed.

"Oliver who is that?" She heard a comm.  She looked around. 

The arrow looked to her and she grinned. "Miss me, sweetie?" 

"You're back?" He asked with a look of shock.  He always looked so surprised when it was someone other than him. 

She smiled wider, from side to side.  "And better than ever." She told him as she flipped out of the way.

"Oliver, who is it? Digg's getting worried that it might be the crazy person we all know and love?" Felicity babbled in his ear.

He looked to her.  "What are you calling yourself?" He asked her.  She couldn't exactly have people knowing her identity yet.  But he'd tell the team when he got back. 

She looked around the corner and saw the little girl she saved.  "Why were you here?" She asked him as she went and checked out the girl. She seemed like she was doing okay.

"Those guys, they aren't exactly just rapists. They went after her for a reason." He told her.  "So what's your name?" He asked.

She smoothed down the little girl's hair and smiled to her.  "I'm gonna keep you safe." She promised. 

"Name," He demanded of her.

"I'm the Black Canary," She beamed at him, because Helena was right, once you let the darkness in, it never came out, but that didn't mean it had to eat at you.

He looked her up and down, "I thought Sara took that name when she was here?" He asked.

She nodded. "And she danced through the flames of warriors to get it. I'll dance through the fire of setting the system right." She told him as she took the girl's hand and left him in the dust.  This hero thing, it seemed like she might just be good at it. 

She'd had a decent first day on the job and that's what it was all about right? Leaving to love saving the people.


End file.
